


West of Sunfall

by ArcaneGlitch (TheWolfParadox)



Series: Chasing Fate [7]
Category: Destiny (Video Games)
Genre: Action/Adventure, Aliens, Canon-Typical Violence, Character Death, Cross-Posted on FanFiction.Net, Destiny, Destiny 2, Gen, Hunters, Ladies and Gentlemen, Major Character Injury, Major Character Undeath, Non-Graphic Violence, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Outer Space, Red Legion, Sacrifice, Science Fiction, Self-Sacrifice, The Last City (Destiny), The Red War (Destiny), Titans, Warlocks, a criminal lack of funny tags, i find the lack of funny disturbing, im back on my bullshit, lmao imagine dying, these characters dont have to
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-10-07
Updated: 2019-10-23
Packaged: 2020-11-27 04:22:17
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 17
Words: 39,663
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20942201
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TheWolfParadox/pseuds/ArcaneGlitch
Summary: It's easy to take the Light for granted when it's always there, within reach. Until it gets taken away. Choosing your path is never simple. When all that you know has been ripped from you, do you accept the hand that fate dealt you? Or do you forge your own path?





	1. Dusk

Harley sighed as he stared absently at the information displayed on his Holodesk. Additional books and records taken from the Tower library sat off to the side. He was looking into anything he could find regarding time travel. While he'd been recovering from being Taken a couple years back, the Exo Stranger had paid him a visit. She'd warned him about a war, as well as a few other things. So far, two of her warnings had come true. The third hadn't come about yet, but he didn't want to sit around waiting for it. He needed to know how she knew about the future and time travel was the most obvious answer.

But he had other reasons for confining himself to his quarters besides research. It was Revival Day, a celebration of the Guardians' efforts against the Darkness. It was also his birthday, something he didn't apply much significance to. He didn't think it was that big of a deal, despite knowing that his friends felt differently. Still, he supposed there were other things to celebrate. For instance, there hadn't been a looming threat against the City since Oryx and SIVA had been ended two years ago. What's more, new Guardians had been revived since then and the Tower was no longer quite as empty as it used to be. Next to him, Prism commented on his restless shifting.

"Eager to get out?"

"I don't know if I'd say that... It's been a while."

"What? You don't want to go celebrate?" his Ghost teased.

"I do. It'll be nice to see the others at least."

She hummed in agreement. "It will be nice to have some decent conversation... Speaking of which, didn't Cayde call earlier?"

"Yeah."

"You said you'd call him back, you know."

"I know... I will."

"You should do it now. He probably wants to tell you happy birthday."

Harley chuckled. "That _does_ sound like something he'd call about."

He pinged the Hunter Vanguard's comm and paused, waiting for a response. But nothing was forthcoming. He decided to try again. Still nothing.

"That's odd," said Prism, "It doesn't register that the call's going through."

A weight settled in Harley's stomach. "Do you think something's wrong?"

"I'm not sure… We've never had a problem reaching someone before, but it's been pretty stormy today… Maybe the weather's interfering with the signal."

"Yeah. Hopefully that's all it is."

But Harley couldn't shake the feeling deep inside himself that something was wrong. He sighed, powering down the desk interface and standing up.

"I guess I'd better get down there and see what Cayde called about." He crossed the room and opened the door, but paused. "I should also probably get those records back to the Library."

As he walked back toward the desk to retrieve them, a rolling boom echoed through the air and the floor lurched violently under his feet, sending him reeling. His head whipped around as he tried to find the source.

"What the hell was that?! An earthquake?"

"Not an earthquake!" Prism's voice was panicked. "An attack!"

Even as she said it, alarms began to blare throughout the Tower.

"Hold still, I need to transmat your armor on!"

Harley kept as still as he could with the continued rumbling and as soon as his armor was on, Prism vanished. Harley sprinted out of the open door and jumped over the side of the landing. A dull roar filled the air and he looked up. Enormous Cabal warships were passing overhead, illuminated by sporadic flashes as they deployed drop pods and bombs on the Tower and City below. Harley felt the instinct to duck as one particularly large ship tore through the sky above, heading toward the City's center.

"Didn't you once say the Cabal blew up planets just for getting in their way?!"

"_Yes,"_ said Prism, "_This isn't how they usually conquer systems. They must want something here."_

After a brief buzz of static, Zavala's voice came over the comms. "_This is Commander Zavala. Civilians: report to evac points. Guardians: rendezvous in the plaza. Our City will not fall."_

"_At least he's still alive,"_ reasoned Prism.

Hearing one of the Vanguard soothed some of Harley's nerves, but in the face of the largest assault against his home he'd ever seen, it didn't mean much. He started heading for the plaza.

"_Cayde's trying to reach us. I'll patch him through." _

A few seconds later, the Hunter Vanguard's voice was audible over the channel. "_Hey there Ace! Gimme a sec."_ Harley heard a Golden Gun charge and rapidly fire three times. "_Probably not the birthday you hoped for," _Cayde joked.

"Not exactly."

"_I'm gonna go find who did this and make 'em hurt. Good luck! ...And Ace? Don't die!"_ With that, he closed the link.

Harley sighed in relief. "He's ok."

He continued running toward the plaza. The sky over the City was now darkened further by the black columns of smoke pouring out of it. He heard the rattle of the anti-aircraft guns on the Wall as they attempted to shoot down the smaller Cabal ships. A voice spoke over the PA system.

"_Evacuation order 77 in effect. This is not a drill. All civilians report to designated evacuation areas immediately."_

"_I'm tapping into the Vanguard's channel,"_ said Prism, "_Hang on…"_

There was a short burst of static before Harley was able to hear anything. "_Ok,"_ Cayde was saying, "_My Ghost keeps taggin' these Cabal as 'Red Legion.' Ikora, whaddya got?"_

"_They're elite,"_ said the Warlock Vanguard, "_Ruthless. And rumor is, they have never known defeat."_

"Well, that's about to be changed," Harley muttered.

"_Not for long,"_ said Zavala, "_Today, they face Guardians."_

"_But Zavala! They're attacking the Traveler!" _

_"The Traveler waits!"_ said the Titan, "_We protect our people. At any cost."_

Harley blinked in surprise. He hadn't entirely expected that, but he chose not to comment. As he finally entered the plaza, he was able to get a better look at the devastation the Red Legion were causing. Massive ships surrounded the Traveler, blasting the City below. The Tower's turrets were working overtime to cripple them. The vault terminals and vendor stations were destroyed. Several were also ablaze.

"Holy hell."

He ran up to the area in front of the Traveler's Walk, where he found Zavala sheltering behind a large piece of debris along with several other Guardians.

"These Red Legion are well trained," he said, "But we are better. We'll hold this line until the last civilian is safely away."

Harley nodded and turned to shoot at the Cabal attempting to breach their defenses. The Tower shuddered with explosions and he saw a Cabal ship moving to fire.

"Guardians! Fall back to my shield!"

He moved back until he was inside the Ward of Dawn, a barrage of missiles impacting the area where he'd been standing. As he watched, metal capsules were flung into the plaza, smashing the stone where they landed. He and the others moved to engage the emerging Legionaries, using their bullets and grenades to keep them at bay. Then Ikora spoke over the comms.

"_Zavala, the last of the shuttles is away. But the Speaker - he never made it. I'm going to look for him."_

Harley didn't know how to feel about that. He had only talked to the Speaker a handful of times. Their views on the Vex hadn't aligned.

"We've got the plaza," said Zavala, "Hayden. Go with Ikora. Find the Speaker!"

"Got it, sir," answered Harley. He ran toward the entrance to the North Tower. "What do you think happened to him?"

"_I don't know,"_ said Prism, "_Any number of things could have. I hope… I hope we find him."_ Harley didn't ask, but he was pretty sure Prism sensed that he wanted to, because she clarified. "_The Speaker helped a lot of Guardians, but before that, he guided us Ghosts. He helped us come to terms with our existence...our purpose."_

Harley wasn't sure what to say, so he just nodded. Upon entering the North Tower, he discovered that the Speaker's study was gone entirely. Standing in front of the hallway exit was a cluster of Cabal. Harley took aim, but before he could fire a single shot, a glowing sphere of purple energy impacted the area where they stood, vaporizing them. Ikora glided down to land where they had been.

"Ikora?"

"The Speaker is gone," she replied, turning to face the emptiness where the study had been. "Red Legion, you will take no more from us! And you will find no mercy in me!"

Taking a running start, she jumped off the Tower and sent a blast of Void into the left thruster of a Thresher, landing on top of it as it sank toward the City below.

"Zavala?"

"_She'll find the Speaker. We need to move on that command ship. I'm sending Amanda Holliday to pick you up."_

"Yes, sir." Harley sighed. He didn't think Ikora would have much luck, but he chose not to focus on that. "Prism, have you heard from any of the others since the attack started?"

His Ghost sounded troubled. "_No, but I'm getting live readings from their comms... Don't worry too much."_

"Of course." Harley laughed humorlessly. "The City's falling apart around me, but I shouldn't worry." Prism sighed but didn't reply.

"_Holliday is inbound,"_ said Zavala, "_We need that ship off the field!"_

A ship flew down to hover next to the Tower. "_Howdy, Ace,"_ said Amanda, "_Someone told me you needed a ride."_

There was a flash of light as he was transmatted on board.

"Amanda," he said, relieved, "I'm glad you're ok."

She didn't turn around, but he saw her nod. "You too, Ace. And once you're done, these Red Legion bastards won't be."

As the ship angled upward, Harley took in the battle around them. City ships whirled through the air, doing their best to damage the hulking Red Legion battleships.

"Zavala. Picked up Ace."

"_Get him onto that command ship!"_ the Titan Vanguard commanded.

"Hold on back there!" Amanda called over her shoulder.

Harley felt the ship dip and twist as the Shipwright doged the Cabal Threshers and turret fire. She muttered something under her breath. He wasn't sure if it was a curse or a prayer. The ship lurched as she executed an impressive maneuver and stopped to hover over the command ship.

"Alright, Ace. Time to kick 'em where it hurts!"

"With pleasure."

Harley transmatted down onto a walkway that led up into the ship. Next to him, a strange tube launched more Cabal out into the City.

"_Let us know when those shields are down and we'll hit that ship with everything we've got,"_ said Amanda.

"Sure thing."

"_Good luck, Ace."_

"You too."

He entered the ship and instantly found himself face to face with three Legionaries. Once they were dead, he stopped to examine a large hologram that hovered over a console.

"Could that be useful?"

"_Maybe,"_ said Prism, "_Let me take a look."_ She appeared in front of him and scanned the console briefly before vanishing again. "_I've located the shield generator. It should be at the bottom of the ship."_

"Got it."

He made his way into the next room, where even more Cabal were waiting. The Legionaries weren't much of a challenge, but the large Cabal with a flamethrower was a different matter.

"_Shoot at the fuel tank on its back,"_ said Prism.

Harley nodded and shot it a few times, igniting the tank and incinerating the Cabal. He moved into a hallway, following it upwards.

"_Cayde!"_ said Zavala, "_What's your status?" _

_"Uh...little low on ammo,"_ the Hunter replied, "_The whole flaming pist- kept burning out. Any- heard from Ikora?" _

_"Not since she went- the Speaker! Form up! On me!"_

"The comms are acting up again," Harley noted, "I hope things are going ok." He ran through a door and found himself on the deck of the ship. "I thought we were going to the bottom?"

"_The Cabal aren't exactly the most efficient in their designs."_

Sheets of rain poured down, splattering against his helmet and distorting his vision. All he could hear above the distant explosions was the rattling fire of the ship's turrets. He crossed the deck to the opposite side, where he encountered a host of Cabal. Entering a Bladedancer's Trance, he was able to take them out with fairly little difficulty. He continued back inside and dropped down into a hallway where Psions and Legionaries were waiting. A few well-placed grenades later, the way was clear. The door at the other end opened, revealing a circular chamber containing several spinning turbines.

"_Ok. Just shoot into the turbines. That should take care of the shield,"_ said Prism.

Harley dropped down, narrowly avoiding the rotating machinery, and emptied his magazine into the first turbine. Sure enough, it began to smoke.

"_Two more."_

He clambered back up onto the platform and dashed for the next turbine before the machinery could crush him. Once all three were destroyed, the rotating arms slowed to a stop.

"We did it!" he said, "The shields are down!" He listened for the Titan's response, but all he got was a burst of static. "Zavala?"

He holstered his gun and jumped up to another doorway, running down the hall, avoiding the patches of fire burning in several places.

"Amanda, you there? We're heading to the deck!" Nothing but gunfire and static. "Hello?"

He rounded a few corners, finally reaching the door that led back out onto the deck of the colossal ship. He ran out, coming face to face with the sight of a strange star-shaped Cabal machine wrapped around the Traveler. Prism appeared next to him.

"What have they done?"

Harley just shook his head, looking down into the destruction below. "The Traveler… How...how do we come back from _this_?"

"You don't," growled a voice from behind him.

With a terrible sense of foreboding, Harley turned around to see the biggest Cabal he had ever encountered, easily two times the size of a normal Cabal. His armor was white and seemed to have a set of wings built into the back. A triangular black mask covered the bottom half of his face, leaving a pair of red, angry eyes glaring at Harley as he gestured to the Traveler.

"Welcome to a world without Light."

Harley didn't want to take his eyes off of the enemy in front of him, but he had to look. He turned back to the Traveler just in time to see a strange orange energy crawl over its surface, encasing it in a shell. All at once, he felt something inside of him vanish. A connection snapping. The energy fled his body and suddenly it was a struggle to hold himself up.

"Prism… I don't feel so good…"

A harsh ringing resonated in his ears, nearly blocking out his Ghost's panicked reply. "Harley?!"

But he didn't miss her dropping out of the air and a jolt of fear shot through him as he caved in on himself, collapsing to his hands and knees.

"Prism?"

His vision wavered and darkened as the towering Cabal strode toward him, his steps causing the deck of the ship to rumble. Harley weakly reached out to grab his Ghost. He glanced up at the strange Cabal, which turned out to be a mistake.

"Do not look at me, creature!" he snarled.

Harley barely had time to process the statement before the Cabal delivered a harsh kick to his abdomen, sending him flying across the deck to land heavily in a puddle.

"You are weak," he continued, loathing palpable in his tone, "Undisciplined. Cowering behind walls."

He began to approach once more and Harley struggled to get up before he got too close. He got his hands underneath him and pushed himself onto his knees before rising unsteadily to his feet, spots dancing across his vision.

"You're not brave. You've merely forgotten the fear of death." He looked up as the Cabal bent over him. "Allow me to reacquaint you."

He was dealt a powerful backhand that knocked the air from his lungs and sent him skidding to the ship's edge. Harley felt Prism slip out of his grasp and turned over just in time to see her plummet over the side.

"PRISM!"

He lay frozen for a moment, staring horrified into the vast burning cityscape below.

"Your kind never deserved the power you were given."

Forcing his shaking limbs to cooperate, Harley managed to get back onto his knees just as the Cabal came to a stop in front of him.

"I am Ghaul." He bent down, pointing at the Traveler. "And your Light… is mine."

With that, Ghaul pushed him. Harley teetered for a moment, suspended over the edge of empty air. Then gravity took hold and he toppled off the side of the ship, his stomach dropping. He couldn't make himself turn over as he hurtled toward the ground below and instead watched as Ghaul stopped at the ship's edge, the image shrinking into a speck as he fell into the ravaged City and passed into darkness.


	2. Divergence

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> As Harley escapes the now occupied City, he's faced with a choice. But his decision isn't one that Prism agrees with.

Harley was flying. Gliding, untouchable, through the clouds after a shimmering falcon. He let the bird guide him as they flew toward a familiar looking orb hovering over a cluster of structures. But before they could reach it, Harley found himself diving into water. Bubbles obscured his vision for a brief moment before giving way to a mass of stone figures, reaching out to Harley with panic etched on their faces. He turned away, looking up toward the water's surface where a dozen pyramid shapes dropped, bubbles spiraling off of them. Past the pyramids Harley saw the gaping maw of an enormous creature as it made to swallow a planet. Two glowing orbs hovered above it and he wondered briefly what they were before he zoomed ahead, down the shaft of a glowing blue spear. Then he passed over to a golden sword and finally to a purple shield. He wasn't sure what they meant but then the bird appeared again, flying over a shining ocean toward a curved spire of a strange white material that crackled with energy.

Harley's eyes opened to meet an ashen gray sky. Clouds of smoke drifted by overhead and particles of soot floated down from above. The air was acrid and sat heavy in his lungs. His head was pounding. He made an effort to sit up, but fell back with a cry as a stab of pain shot through his abdomen. He raised his head to look down at himself as his fingers probed the area, gritting his teeth upon finding the site of the injury. Ribs were broken, though he wasn't sure how many or how badly. He shifted and nearly cried out again as a searing hot knife tore down his back, bringing tears to his eyes. Remaining as still as he could, he closed his eyes and waited for the pain to abate. Then he gingerly moved his hand underneath him, feeling for the source. There was a stickiness at the base of his spine. If he had to wager, he'd say the gashes ran up to the top of his back. He moved his arm back out, wincing. Luckily, the pain was more manageable when it wasn't hitting him out of the blue. That was good, because he knew he had to get moving. He let out a breath he wasn't aware of holding and used his elbows to leverage himself up. Pain ripped through his left shoulder and he choked back a groan. Almost definitely dislocated. As he slowly pushed himself to his feet, he was aware of even more pain in his right ankle.

His impact with the ground had made a sizeable crater. Rubble and debris littered the area. Down the slope from him was a channel. Looking across, he could see Cabal marching on the other side. Their backs were to him, giving him hope that he could make it into the channel. Hopefully, his path would be less obstructed walking in the water. His helmet was badly damaged. The HUD was no longer working and his vision was obscured by a spider web of cracks and scratches. Reaching up with his good arm, he removed it, casting it to the side before beginning to limp down the slope to the water. Finding his way across uneven ground with a busted ankle was a new kind of struggle. He almost fell into the water face first when he stumbled over a rock. He held his left arm against his chest, both to brace his ribs and to avoid damaging his shoulder more than it already was. Then he began a slow shuffle down the channel, his boots sloshing through the water as he avoided debris piles and Light knew what else.

He wondered what happened to his friends. They hadn't been at the Tower. Were they ok? Did they make it out? Had the Vanguard made it? What about Prism? A sob was torn from his throat when he remembered watching his Ghost fall. It was his fault. He had let her slip through his fingers. If she was gone, he didn't deserve to make it out of the City.

He hobbled around a wrecked ship and saw a Thresher moving toward him above the channel. He moved closer to the wreck, pressing himself against the cold metal. The Thresher passed by overhead, continuing its patrol. Further down, he saw three Goliath tanks roll across a bridge. How had the Red Legion taken the City so quickly? He stumbled again, wincing as the movement jostled his injuries. His heartbeat throbbed in his ears and he paused, waiting for the dark tint to recede from his vision. But staying here meant certain death and he soon forced himself to keep moving, edging around the ever-growing piles of debris. Up ahead, he heard a staticky mechanical voice call out.

"Haaarleyyyy?"

He froze, hardly daring to hope. As he came around the debris, he saw a glowing light up ahead.

"This is awful…" said Prism, "How did this happen?"

Harley was almost there. He tried to call out to his Ghost, but his voice was faint and scratchy and no matter how hard he tried, he couldn't make it louder. All he could do was limp toward her in the hopes that she would notice him. Then his foot caught on a piece of rubble and he fell forward, barely able to catch himself with his good arm. Waves of agony rolled through him, forcing hot tears to leak from his eyes. It was all he could do to not pass out. He remained on his hands and knees, waiting for the pain to subside.

"Harley?" A beam of light fell across him. "You made it. You're alive," said Prism, "I thought...I thought I'd lost you."

"Pri...sm." He felt a surge of energy go through him, melting the pain away. He stood up. "Prism?"

"I can heal you. But...not as completely as before."

Harley's stomach tightened. "What does that mean?"

"You might...have a few scars."

"Oh… Don't worry about that. Better to be alive with scars than dead."

"About that… I won't be able to bring you back anymore."

"What do you mean? What happened?"

"I've been searching for you for two days," she explained, "The Light, Harley...it's gone."

A pit formed in Harley's stomach. "What do you mean gone?"

"The Red Legion took everything. They're… they're killing powerless Guardians."

Harley's breath caught in his throat. "The others?"

"I haven't heard from any of them," she said glumly_, _"Or the Vanguard... We need to leave the City." She vanished.

"I... where will we go?"

He felt lost. The City was the only place he'd known.

"_I don't know. But we can't stay here."_

He nodded. Crossing under the bridge he pulled himself up a ledge and walked up a slope to the right. Burning rubble formed a blockade, except for one hole. He entered and followed the narrow passageway as it climbed up toward a patch of daylight.

"_I'm picking up an emergency broadcast,"_ said Prism, "_Rendezvous coordinates." _

"They're evacuating the whole planet," Harley realized, "Not just the City."

"_Yes."_

He emerged through the hole and navigated around the debris of the damaged wall. He could see mountains and trees. They were about to enter the wilderness.

Harley didn't know where they were going. He had no sense of where they were or their location relative to anything useful. All he could do was keep walking away from the City. He walked for two days, sheltering under trees at night. While climbing a slope, he saw a large bird perched on a rock nearby.

"A falcon…"

He recalled the strange dream he'd had after being thrown from Ghaul's ship. Upon hearing it, Prism had been convinced that it was in fact a vision from the Traveler itself. Harley was more than a bit skeptical, to say the least. As he neared the falcon, it flew off. He continued forward, coming to the edge of a short cliff. Below, he could see a campsite in a small clearing. A radio tower was in the middle of it. Supplies and sleeping bags were scattered around. He dropped down into the site to investigate, coming across several dead Guardians.

"_They had no chance without their powers,"_ said Prism sadly.

Harley stared at the helmeted head of one of the Hunters, wondering if it was someone he knew. He managed to scavenge some ammo and was about to move on, when a burst of static sounded from the radio tower. He approached it and was able to make out a voice coming through.

"_If anyone's out there, whatever the Red Legion did, it's like...they flipped a switch. Every Guardian and Ghost's connection to the Traveler's just...vanished. They're gathering survivors at the northwestern passage. They took our Light! They're- they're killing us!"_

The signal cut off. Harley closed his eyes upon hearing how distraught the other Guardian sounded. How could they hope to recover from this? The Last Safe City on Earth was no longer safe. They had nowhere to go.

"_We should keep moving,"_ said Prism softly, "_We're still too close to the City for comfort."_

Harley couldn't stop staring at the bodies of the other Guardians. "That could've been us…"

"_I know… But we shouldn't stay here much longer." _

Instead of replying, Harley just finished grabbing what supplies he could find before turning away from the camp. He'd only gone a few feet, when a pack of snarling creatures emerged from further down, running toward him. Their bodies were doglike, but red, scaly, and twice as big. Harley drew his gun and began to shoot, backing up when they got too close. They went down pretty easy, but the sheer amount of them made it difficult. He moved back further while reloading, but wasn't fast enough to avoid a swipe from the nearest creature. Its steely claws traced lines of fire down his arm. He hissed in pain and stabbed it in the throat with his knife. Unfortunately, the movement left him briefly open to attack and one of the other creatures lunged. He cried out as its claws dug into him and plunged his knife into it, leaving it there as he shot down the remaining creatures. Soon, they all lay dead in a heap around him.

He groaned and looked down. The thing had caught him just below the collarbone on his right side, a red stain slowly spreading from the area. With a curse, he pulled the neckline down, tearing it a little to get a good view of the wound. The gashes were about four inches long, though thankfully not as deep as he'd feared.

"Prism. Think you could give me a hand?"

His Ghost materialized in front of him, scanning the wound. "I'm sorry, Harley, but you'll have to take care of this on your own," she said apologetically, "It's… a lot more draining to heal you now and I'd rather save my energy for anything life-threatening."

Harley took a moment to study his Ghost. Her shell was scratched and blackened and it drooped on the sides, as though she were exhausted. Her eye also didn't seem to be shining as bright. He felt a stab of sympathy.

"It's fine Prism. Like you said, this isn't life-threatening. I can get it."

She vanished. "_There should be a first aid kit in the camp somewhere."_

He nodded. "I'll go check."

Pausing to retrieve his knife, he turned back to the campsite. As he searched for the kit, he asked Prism about the creatures that had attacked him.

"_Cabal Warbeasts,"_ she replied, "_We haven't come across any in the system before, but it looks like the Red Legion are changing that."_

"Right…" He located the first aid kit and set it atop one of the tables, opening it. "Any info on their leader? I think his name was...Ghaul?"

Prism sighed. "_On that subject, I'm afraid you know as much as I do. I've never heard mention of him before now."_

Harley nodded, pressing a gauze pad on his wound to stop the bleeding.

"_I hope you know your arm is bleeding too."_

"Yeah. I'll get to it once I sort this out." He lifted the pad to check. "It's slowed down, at least. Is there any water around?"

"_There's a canteen a meter to your left."_

Harley located it. "Thanks."

He set it on the table and pulled off his gloves before removing the armor down to his waist. Like most Hunter armor, it was lighter and more flexible than that of Warlocks or Titans. It showed signs of damage from his fall and was scorched and shredded in several places. The long-sleeved undersuit seemed to have fared slightly better. Leaving out the areas where the Warbests' claws had torn it and the tears in the back, at least. He unzipped it halfway and pulled his arms out, leaving Harley with nothing to protect him from the brisk wind that had begun to rise. Shivering slightly, he picked up the canteen and unscrewed the cap. He paused briefly to angle his body so the water wouldn't soak his pants or boots, then tilted it over the wound, clenching his teeth against the sting it produced. After a few seconds, he stopped. The water had done a good job of getting rid of the blood. He set the canteen down and grabbed a tube of antibiotic ointment from the first aid kit, applying a thin layer over the wound. Then he selected one of the larger gauze pads and taped it in place, making sure it covered everything. Once he was satisfied, he treated his arm the same way, but opted to use the roll of gauze to bandage it instead. Then he put everything back on and packed up the first aid kit.

"_You should probably take it with you,"_ said Prism, "_You'll have to change those bandages and you might need it if you get injured again."_

He nodded. "Good idea. Could you store it for me, please?"

"_Certainly."_ The kit vanished.

"Alright…" He looked around. "Should be good."

He turned to leave, when he thought of something else. Turning back, he grabbed the canteen and attached it to his belt before he headed off in the direction the beasts had come from.

As Harley's journey progressed higher into the mountains, his surroundings got steadily colder. Snow began to cover more and more of the ground. More often than not, the wind howled around him, biting at any exposed skin and numbing his fingertips even through his gloves. He missed the protection his helmet had provided. Instead, he had to settle for pulling his cloak more tightly around him as the wind sent it flapping.

As he walked, he speculated on what had befallen the other Guardians. Cut off from the Light. No safe place left to go. How many had met the same fate as the ones back at the camp? How many of them did he know? Were his friends among them? None of the thoughts brought him any solace. He wondered what had happen to the Vanguard? Zavala. Ikora. Cayde. Had they made it off-planet? If so, he had no idea where they would be. He'd asked Prism about the rendezvous coordinates that had been sent out, but the Ghost has been unable to determine where they led.

More often than not, Ghaul cropped up in his thoughts. How had there been no warning of his attack? How had he known how to block the Traveler's Light? The Red Legion leader's words rang through Harley's skull over and over. "_You are not brave. You've merely forgotten the fear of death."_ He'd initially put it off as a taunt. That's all it had been. Nothing but words designed to trip him up. But now he couldn't help considering the truth behind them. It was no secret that Guardians threw themselves into battle with an unparalleled ferocity. Praises were sung of their bravery. The words "Be Brave" were essentially their motto. But was it real bravery? Were they truly being brave if they had nothing to lose? Maybe what they saw as bravery was simply arrogance in disguise. Nothing could kill them, so why should they fear anything? Especially death. The fear of death was written into human existence. Throughout their long history, it had driven people to do both great and terrible things. That fear of ceasing to exist had brought about the Exo Project. Take it away and what had they become? Prideful. Arrogant. Guardians felt like they couldn't be touched. Some went so far as to welcome death with open arms, in hopes of gaining knowledge. Ghaul was right. They had forgotten what fearing death felt like. And now they were paying the price.

He glanced up at the rocky walls of the pass that pressed in on him, bringing on a sense of claustrophobia. Eventually, they opened up, granting him a view of the icy mountain slopes and, miles away in the distance, clouds of smoke drifting up from the City, partially obscuring the Traveler floating above it. He stopped walking, taking in the sight. It was hard to believe how far they'd come in such a short amount of time. It had only been about a week since the City was attacked. Swallowing, he continued along the narrow path that hugged the mountainside, trying not to look down. As it turned inward to cut another pass through the mountain, the ground rumbled under his feet as a Cabal warship passed overhead, causing some of the snow to fall on him. He stopped again to watch as it continued its journey toward the distant City, taking this last opportunity to look at the Traveler and the place he had called home. _What if this is the last time I see it?_ Not wanting to dwell on the thought, he turned away and made his way through the pass.

Following a wide curving trail, he looked down into the valley below where a river wound into the distance. The place looked green and a lot more inviting than anything he'd encountered so far. Overhead, he saw the falcon curving off to the left. He frowned and paused. He'd been seeing the bird a lot over the past few days and he was pretty sure it was the same one every time. He hadn't missed the connection to his vision, but right now, it felt like a good idea to stop and evaluate his options. Yes, the falcon had flown over the left path, but Harley could see another viable path that seemed to lead directly into the valley. It was a bit steeper, but at least he knew where it was going. Exhaling sharply, he sat down on a rock and took a drink from his canteen. Prism appeared in front of him.

"What's going on, Harley?"

"...Just thinking about which way we should go next."

"Well, that seems pretty obvious to _me_. We follow your vision."

Harley sighed. "I knew you would say that."

"Knew I would- Of _course_ I'm going to say that! What else could we do?"

Harley pointed. "That trail leads down into the valley below. We could find water and probably food. I don't know where the other path goes."

"Maybe, but the _Traveler _does. How is this a contest?"

"From where I'm standing, sticking with logic makes a lot more sense than following a bird from some dream."

"'Some dream'? Harley, this is the _Traveler_ we're talking about. It sent you that vision for a reason."

"You sure about that? How do you know it wasn't just some whacked out dream-hallucination I had? In case you forgot, I hit my head pretty hard when I fell from like a _mile _up."

What he didn't mention was the fact that even if it _was_ a vision, he wasn't sure he wanted to blindly follow whatever path the Traveler had him on. If it was sending visions, why hadn't he gotten one before the Red Legion attacked? If they had known beforehand, they could have stopped it from happening.

His Ghost sighed. "I can tell you've made up your mind about this. I'd just like to state for the record that I think you're making a mistake."

Harley pursed his lips. "I guess we'll see."

He stood up and began walking down the rightmost path. Prism gave one last sigh.

"Yes... I suppose we will."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The first breakaway from the campaign. I love the opening mission, so I wanted to include it. , I stick to the general progression of events, but a lot of other things have been altered. I'm not entirely sure how long the Red War was in canon, but I have it last for a couple of months in this story.


	3. Desolate

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Harley finds refuge in the forest as he tries to come to terms with losing his home to the Red Legion.

The constant gurgle of the river masked Harley's descent into the valley. There was likely nothing to hide from, but he knew there was always the possibility that he wasn't alone. As the steep slope gave way to flat grassy terrain, he paused to listen. Nothing but wind and water. He surveyed the area. There was a decent amount of open ground before it was cut off by forest.

A sudden screech drew his attention upwards. A small shape could be seen circling across the pale blue sky. The falcon. Its cry was sharply accusing and Harley turned away, following the flowing river into the treeline. The bird cried out a few more times after that but soon all was silent. He shivered as the chilly air moved through the trees around him and looked around. He was pretty far in, but not so far that the forest's edge was no longer visible. While up in the mountains, he'd gotten a good view of the sun. By his estimation, there were only a few hours of daylight left. He had to find decent shelter before nightfall, or he'd find himself in a lot more trouble.

"Prism, you see any good shelter?"

She materialized next to him. "Hmm… For it to be most efficient, it would have to protect you from the ground, wind, and rain. Not to mention insulation. That being said, those three trees over there are growing fairly close together. They might be your best bet, assuming you don't want to go deeper in."

"Yeah. I'd like to be able to find my way out, just in case." Harley approached the trees. "This is good. I wanna stay near the river… How should I go about this?"

"There should be enough branches around for you to close the gaps on the sides."

"Right. I'll start gathering them."

For the next half hour, Harley's gaze was aimed downward as he picked out fallen branches to use for shelter. It was difficult finding ones both long and thick enough to actually help, and it took him several trips before he had a decent pile at his chosen site.

"Alright… So how do I do this?"

"You rebuilt a ship with Vex parts," Prism deadpanned, "I'm sure you can figure out how to build a shelter out of sticks. Children in the City do it for fun."

Harley shot her an incredulous look. "They build wilderness survival shelters for _fun_?"

His Ghost sighed. "Sometimes I forget you were denied the experience of constructing forts. It doesn't matter though. You should be able to force the branches into the ground. Like a fence."

"So now I'm building a fence? Great. Innovative."

Despite his grumbling, he began to do as Prism had suggested.

"Guardians could have benefited from a few lessons in wilderness survival," she commented.

He laughed dryly. "Yeah. Only then, it- ugh- didn't matter 'cause we- grr- didn't need to worry about that. Kind. Of. Thing!" He paused. "...This is harder than I thought."

"My point stands."

"Hey, listen…" He sighed. "Never mind. I gotta get this thing together."

He went back to work. It took some time, but eventually, the gaps between two of the trees were closed up and a series of branches were laid across the top, forming a decent roof. Prism eyed it critically.

"It might be a good idea to pad the roof and floor with leaves or needles. This thing will have to get you through the night and nights in this climate can get pretty cold, even in the summer."

"Alright."

Harley spent a few more minutes gathering bunches of fallen needles, packing them across the branches of the roof as well as the floor. He stood up, dusting off.

"Not bad. Now I just gotta get a fire going."

He cleared out an area in front of the shelter, setting up a fire pit lined with rocks. He began stacking sticks inside, Prism hovering at his shoulder.

"A pyramid structure would be more efficient."

"You wanna do this?" he grumbled, no heat in his words. He leaned the sticks against each other, sticking more needles in between. "Alright. Now the hard part…"

"I can get that for you."

Prism flew forward, shooting out a small beam toward the pile. It only took a few seconds before a spark caught, quickly eating up the needles and licking at the sides of the larger sticks. Harley moved to sit down just inside his shelter, warming his gloved hands.

"How did you do that?"

"I may not be able to bring you back anymore, but not all of my functions were impaired."

"...Having my Light would've made this a whole lot easier."

"If you had your Light, we wouldn't be in this situation."

Harley sighed. "Yeah…"

Having his Light stripped away had been...something else. Sure, it'd been suppressed before, even drained, but a part of it had still been there. Now he just felt empty, like a shell deserted by the creature that used to live inside. He couldn't imagine what it was like for Guardians who'd had it longer than him. Around him, the shadows grew longer as the daylight waned, stretching out into the gathering dark.

Harley felt a pit growing steadily in his stomach, a distinct sense of unease whose source couldn't be pinpointed. He shifted nervously, unable to stop from scanning the trees around him, convinced something was creeping up on him. He saw nothing and the only noise he heard was the rushing of the river. But he couldn't shake the feeling that he wasn't alone. He shivered.

"Prism?"

"Yes?"

"Are there… what kinds of things live in forests?"

His Ghost hummed thoughtfully. "Well, I suppose there's the usual birds and rodents. Not to mention insects. Aside from that, I'd say bears, wolves, bobcats… Any number of them could live in here. Humanity's been out of the picture for a long time, Harley. It's no surprise that nature reclaimed what was left behind."

He couldn't stop himself from tensing up. "That makes me feel _so _much better."

"Relax. Bigger predators usually live deeper in."

Looking up from the fire, he noticed that darkness had all but taken over, hiding the shapes of the trees he used to be able to see. Dread coiled in his stomach and he choked back a cough. He couldn't swallow. It was like something was blocking his throat. His heart thudded in his ears as he tried to reclaim control. Next to him, Prism noticed that something was wrong.

"Harley? Are you ok?"

He waved his hand at his chest. "Can't...breathe."

"Um ok don't panic." She scanned him. "I don't see anything out of the ordinary. Nothing's blocking your throat. You shouldn't have any problem."

"I can't- Prism help!"

"I don't know what to do! There's nothing physically wrong with- oh. OH. I know what it is. You're having a panic attack. Ok. Harley, you need to calm down. Focus on breathing."

He nodded and tried to take a deep breath but it caught halfway, causing him to cough. "Prism?!" He started to shake.

"Harley, you have to keep trying. Breathe in for five seconds and out for five seconds. You're ok. You're safe."

Harley sat there for a few moments, getting back into the regular pattern of breathing.

"...Thanks Prism."

"Of course... You haven't had one of those in a while. What triggered it, if you don't mind me asking?"

"Nothing specific. Just a bit of irrational fear… I think I'll try and get some sleep."

"Good idea," affirmed Prism, "A night's rest might give us both clearer heads."

The next day dawned cold and dim. Harley awoke to the tint of daylight passing through the forest's roof. Extracting himself from his shelter, he stretched out his arms and back, wincing as the movement pulled at his injuries. Making his way to the river, he splashed some water over his face, blinking and gasping at its freezing chill. He returned to his campsite, surveying the surrounding forest. Through the branches above, he could see pieces of the sky cloaked in the gray pallor of clouds.

"It's smoke and ash from the City," Prism remarked sadly.

"Is it still burning?"

"There's no way to tell. But I have a question for _you_. What will you do?"

"Do? About what?"

"About Ghaul. About the City. How are you planning to fight back?"

Harley sighed. "Maybe I'm _not _planning to fight back."

"Harley!"

"Look, Prism! I know what you want me to say. You want me to say that I won't rest until the City is retaken and Ghaul is dead. But has it ever occurred to you that maybe the City can't be reclaimed? We're scattered across the system. We have no Light. There's been no word of any kind of resistance or even a refuge. And you know what? Maybe Ghaul's right about us... We can _die_ now, Prism. We can't come back anymore. How many Guardians will be willing to go into battle knowing that if they fall, they won't be getting back up?"

"You can't just turn your back on the City, Harley! It's your home! Just like how it was home to all those people. If we can't retake the City, what else is there?"

"I don't know, Prism. And frankly, I'm not the one anyone should be looking to for that answer."

"And your friends? How do you expect to find them by sitting here?"

"I don't expect to find them, Prism! And I'd appreciate it if you'd stop trying to give me false hope."

"_False hope?!_ Harley Hayden, I can't believe you!"

"Prism, I might not know the statistical odds of surviving the Red Legion's attack but I know for a fact that they aren't good. I know you think it might help to pretend that despite all the people who died, my friends were lucky enough to survive, but it doesn't… Now, if you'll excuse me, I'm gonna look around for anything edible. Who knows how long we'll be here…"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It's pretty safe to say that Harley isn't handling the Red Legion's attack very well.


	4. Determination

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Although Titan, the chosen base for the resistance, has been overrun by the Hive, some Guardians aren't willing to let it go that easily. Making a high-stakes decision is always difficult, especially when such decisions rarely come without a price.

Liv pulled her cloak tighter around her. Heavy and tarp-like as it was, it would still provide some protection from the neverending rain that assaulted her. Rhys had convinced her to give up her usual armor for pieces that were more covering and waterproof. With the Light gone, her Ghost was unwilling to risk her catching any type of sickness. She sighed and rested her chin on her knees, staring off across the rolling waves to the flashes of orange lightning on the horizon.

Someone nudged her and she turned in time to see Kaedro sit down next to her.

"How you holding up?" he asked.

She shrugged.

"That well, huh?" the other Hunter joked.

"No. I'm sick of sitting here doing nothing. Weren't we supposed to take a run at the Control Center?"

"Big Blue doesn't want any more Guardians going in. The Hive have this place locked down. We've lost too many."

"Yeah, well fat lot of good the rest of us are. All we've been doing is sitting in this outpost eating through our rations. We need to get in there."

"I know, believe me. But in case you haven't noticed, we don't have the Light anymore. And we don't stand a chance without it."

"Like hell! Not having the Light doesn't make us useless! But it _does _make us cowards." The Exo sighed, but he didn't fight her on it.

"Hey, guys. What are you talking about?" Liv turned as Jade sat down on Kaedro's other side.

"Liv wants to take the Control Center."

Liv glared at the other Hunter to no effect. Jade's eyes moved to her as the Warlock frowned worriedly. "The Commander ordered us not to."

"Yeah," scoffed Liv, "Weeks ago. Something needs to change. We aren't getting anywhere by sitting around. We need to retake this base and connect with the rest of the system to see who else survived."

"I know you want to find your fireteam," said Jade, "But they might be flying out here. What if they get here and we're gone…" The 'or worse' was left unspoken.

"I'm not about to sit here crossing my fingers and waiting for that to happen. We need a foothold and we need one soon."

"I am going to go out on a limb and infer that you three are discussing our inaction," came Bazzle's voice dryly from behind.

Liv didn't turn. "Ding, ding. Gold star," she muttered.

"As you all well know, Commander Zavala is unwilling to risk any more lives to retake this moon."

Liv stood up and turned around, her teeth gritted. "I don't care what he's willing to do. We need to boot out the Hive and then I need to find my fireteam."

She could feel Jade and Kaedro, who had risen with her, hovering at her shoulder.

"What do you suggest we do?"

"I say we screw his orders and take that tower ourselves."

A frown tugged at the Titan's features. "Such an enterprise is unlikely to succeed."

"I. Don't. Care. We can't call ourselves Guardians if we go and hide the second things get tough."

"She has a point there, Baz," said Kaedro, "If we manage to come out on top of the Red Legion, I'd like to have actually contributed to fighting back."

Bazzle sighed. "If we were to attempt this, how would we compensate for our lack of Light?"

"Numbers," said Kaedro, "We all go in together."

"Yeah," affirmed Liv, "All of us plus those guys over there makes twelve Guardians. If we stick together, we could do it."

The Titan contemplated it. "Very well," he said finally, "I will gather the others."

It didn't take long before the rest of the Guardians were assembled in the small area. Liv's foot tapped agitatedly. After doing nothing for so long, she was eager to see some action. As Bazzle briefed the others on the situation, Rhys whispered to her through their bond.

"_I know you're excited to get out there, but please remember that I won't be able to bring you back,"_ he cautioned.

"_You worry too much." _

_"I worry the perfect amount, thank you." _

_"Whatever." _

_"Livayla, I need you to understand that this isn't a game. To get through this alive, you have to stay with the others at all times. No breaking off. I'm not about to lose you to the Hive." _

_"Rhys, I _know_. I won't do anything to get myself killed." _

_"Good… Now you should probably pay attention to the briefing."_

Liv rolled her eyes but tuned back into what Bazzle was saying.

"-are much higher than any other mission. That is why we will move as a group and make sure each area is clear before we continue. This is an unsanctioned operation so we must maintain radio silence. Is that understood?" The Guardians nodded. "Good. Let's reclaim this moon."

Liv shuddered as they moved through the hallway. The lights overhead flickered and almost made it seem like the walls were moving. Wait. She paused, leaning closer. No, the walls were actually moving.

"Ugh." Suppressing a shudder, she continued forward.

"I never thought I'd be this afraid of the Hive again," muttered Kaedro.

She nodded. In their current Lightless state, even the Thrall set them on edge. They passed some floating rocks.

"Still up to their weird space magic," said Kaedro.

A loud splash came from behind them. Liv whirled, training her gun on the source. She relaxed when she saw it was a Guardian. The Warlock stood up, their posture looking more than a bit sheepish. A small sigh escaped Liv as she turned back around, continuing forward. The group passed through onto another rig and Liv brightened as she saw the Control Center in the distance. Then they stumbled upon a Hive gathering. Thrall shrieked and raced toward them. Liv wasted no time in shooting them down. Behind the Thrall, she saw a huge Knight wielding a sword.

"To the front!" she yelled.

The other Guardians ran up, directing their combined fire at the Knight. The Hive swung its massive sword and Liv watched in horror as it cleaved through the helmet of a Hunter standing right next to her. She braced for a follow-up strike but their guns had done their work and the Knight crumbled. Liv saw Jade reaching toward the fallen Hunter as his Ghost fluttered above him frantically. But it was clear to all of them that nothing could be done.

Liv grabbed Jade's arm and tugged the Warlock. "Let's go."

Jade looked back at the Hunter. "But we can't just leave him!"

"We have to. I know I sound like a cold-hearted Vex but we need to take that Control Center. That's what matters right now." She marched forward, Jade hovering anxiously next to her.

"It's so easy," the Warlock whispered, "It's so easy for them to kill us now. What about our friends? For all we know, they could be dead like that Hunter. What if...what if that had been Harley?"

"It wasn't," said Liv shortly.

"But it could have been."

"But it _wasn't_." Liv huffed, turning to face the Warlock. "You need to get it together Jade. We can't focus on what might have happened. The City needs us. Our friends need us. So get your head in the game and let's send these crusty bastards back to hell!"

Jade took a breath, nodding.

"Alright," said Kaedro, "We're coming up on the Control Center but we gotta make sure everything's ok."

"We will split up," said Bazzle, "Marko, you lead one group. I will lead the other."

"Sounds good, bossman."

The group split up without further ado. Bazzle's team took the straight shot next to the Control Center while Liv led her team down the right flank. After about ten minutes of no Hive, she was ready to head back. Before she mobilized her team, Bazzle's voice came through the comms.

_"Marko. Report."_

A sense of foreboding settled on Liv. Bazzle wouldn't break radio silence unless something was very wrong.

"No sign of Hive on this side."

_"I'm sending you our coordinates. We found what looks like a Hive breeding ground and...we lost another Guardian."_

Liv's insides twisted at the news. "10-4, we're on our way."

They met up with Bazzle's team outside a room that was entirely overrun with "Hive stuff." Glowing yellow sacs dotted the space. Liv shot one experimentally, causing it to pop with a burst of liquid. She wrinkled her nose.

"We need to clear this out," said Bazzle, "And once we finish, we'll sweep the perimeter one more time."

The breeding ground was easy to clear, if disgusting. Once they finished, teams were redivided to check the perimeter. As they moved along, Liv struck up a conversation with her Ghost.

"So what's the deal with this moon anyway?"

"_During the Golden Age, humanity had cities everywhere,"_ replied Rhys, "_It's safe to assume that places like this looked very different back then."_

"The Hive just _had_ to come in and ruin everything."

"_It's hardly surprising. Look in the sky."_

Liv looked up and saw Saturn hanging above them. On the edge of her vision, she was able to make out a hole punched through its rings. "Is that..?"

"_The Dreadnaught. The Hive haven't been here for very long. Still, it was foolish to think they wouldn't infest a moon so close to their base."_

"Yeah… Well, it looks like this side's clear. We'd better meet up with the others at the rendezvous point."

The rendezvous point was a door that led to the control tower. It was locked, but that wasn't a problem for Bazzle's Ghost.

"It's open!" she said, "Though I doubt the Commander will appreciate what you did to get here."

"Thank you, Sway," said Bazzle, leading the way into the Control Center.

Liv looked around at the dark screens of the various monitors in the room. "Yeesh. It's kinda creepy in here."

"_Better creepy than Hive-infested,"_ said Rhys, "_I'll send out a beacon to tell Zavala that it's clear to land."_

The Guardians sat in silence as they waited for the Commander to fly in. Liv wouldn't admit it, but she was a bit worried. After all, they had broken the rules to take the Control Center and Zavala was known for being as by-the-book as they came. Finally, Bazzle stood up.

"They've landed. Marko, with me."

Liv fell into step next to the Titan as they headed out onto the landing platform. They were just in time to see Zavala and Sloane, his Deputy Commander, get dropped off by a ship. While the latter looked to be in a good mood, Zavala didn't seem too happy with them.

"Torelli, I gave you specific orders not to reclaim the Control Center. And not only did you defy those orders, but in doing so, you lost two Guardians. Do you have anything to say for yourself?"

Liv stepped forward, breaking in before Bazzle could speak. "Sir, I take full responsibility. It was my idea to take a run at the Control Center."

Zavala sighed. "Why does that not surprise me? Marko, you've been written up for recklessness before, but even you have never gone this far. Two Guardian casualties cannot go overlooked."

"I know," said Liv, "But with all due respect, if it were me, I'd've been happy I died trying to help the resistance instead of sitting on some rig waiting to die of starvation."

"That was not your call to make."

"I know. But I did it anyway and I can't take it back. So are we moving forward with this or not?"

Sloane cleared her throat. "Marko has a point, though I wouldn't agree with the way she phrased it. Now that we have the Control Center, we can begin our counteroffensive. We've intercepted several Red Legion transmissions but we'll need power back to decrypt them."

"The Wave Energy Convertors that power this station are not currently in working order," said Zavala, "For this foothold to last, it's crucial to restore power." He sighed, then addressed Liv. "Marko, as much as I don't agree with your methods, I'm putting you and Torelli in charge of retaking this station. You'll both report to Deputy Commander Sloane. We've already lost Guardians and without the Light, we will lose more. We must minimize the casualties as much as we can... Good work, both of you."

"Thank you, sir," said Liv.

Zavala nodded. "Dismissed."


	5. Disillusioned

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> With the Light gone and the City overthrown, keeping morale up is crucial. But often, it's not a gift but an exchange. Because sometimes boosting the morale of others comes at the expense of your own.

Fyr sighed as he looked out across the miles of forest to where the Shard of the Traveler sat embedded in the earth. As always, a river of Light flowed endlessly down from it, dissipating into the surrounding environment.

"I don't get why we can't just get our Light back from that," he said, nodding towards it. It was something he'd been wondering for some time.

"It's been away from the rest of the Traveler for too long," said Tristan, "Its Light is corrupted. I don't think it's useable. By us or anything else." The Warlock looked at him curiously. "If it could, would you go to it?"

Fyr shrugged. "Heck, man. I wanted to do that when I got here. But Jia was worried. She didn't want me to leave, so I didn't."

"I never asked… How did you two manage to escape the City?" asked Tristan.

"We were hanging out when the attack happened," said Fyr, "Like, one second we were having lunch and the next second, the City's falling down. I grabbed her and we got the hell outta dodge."

"How did you stay alive?"

Fyr shrugged. "I stored a lotta food on my ship. We mostly stayed there until I picked up the signal saying go to the Farm. Used up the rest of my fuel getting here, which sucks."

"_I always told you that you should refuel more,"_ said Spark.

Fyr sighed. "_Know-it-all."_

He got up and began walking back into the center of the temporary base. As he went, he saw several other Guardians around but never the ones he wanted to see. Every day since he'd arrived, he'd scanned any new arrivals hoping to see a familiar face. But Tristan was still the only one of his friends he'd encountered. He kept walking, making for the other side of the area. He had heard Zavala's broadcast about rallying on Titan when it was sent out a while back. Since his ship had no fuel, he had planned on flying out with Tristan. However, a Guardian had arrived from Titan the following day bringing news of a sea-locked moon infested by the Hive. There were other Guardians there, but no hold over the base had been established. It was, as the Guardian had said, a fool's journey. So Fyr and Tristan had remained at the Farm doing what they could to help out.

What were they working toward? Fyr didn't know. He didn't think Tristan or anyone else did either. Did they plan to take out the Cabal army that occupied the City? That wouldn't work without the Light. It was only now, having lost something he'd taken for granted since he was revived, that he actually paid attention to his Ghost's frequent warnings to "be more careful."

He came upon the firepit that was near the dock at the far side of the Farm. Jia was sitting on one of the benches warming herself by the fire. He hopped down and sat next to her, wrapping an arm around her shoulders.

"What were you up to?" she asked.

"Talking to Tris," he said lightly.

"About what?"

"Y'know...the attack."

She nodded. "Are they planning to retake the City or anything?"

"I dunno."

"I hope not," she said with a shiver, "Ever since the Red Legion attacked, I've just been so scared all the time. It almost feels like I'm ill. You don't have the Light anymore and I don't want to lose you."

Spark listened to the exchange, doing something that Delta - Jade's Ghost - had often chided him for. Worrying. "You worry too much." That's what she always said. And maybe he did. But he'd be damned if that worry wasn't justified now. He knew he often gave his Guardian a hard time, but he was actually supremely proud of Fyr. He'd noticed a change starting to take place in the Hunter after Jia came into the picture. She had begun to temper his Guardian's reckless side. It was a subtle change, but an important one nonetheless.

However, Spark feared that Fyr had started to change in a different, much less positive, way. He'd always been the one to crack jokes and lighten the mood when things got too dark. But lately, Spark had been seeing that side of him less and less since the Red Legion had attacked. He was acting much more subdued than normal and it unnerved the Ghost. Even now, as Fyr smiled at Jia, something was missing.

"You kidding me? I'm Fyr freaking Allerton. Those aliens got nothing on me!"

Jia gave a small smile, but her eyes were still dimmer than usual. "What do you think happened to the others?"

Fyr shrugged. "No idea."

"Do you think they made it out of the City?"

"Of course! You just wait. I bet Ace and Kay and everyone'll roll up to the boss dude's ship in no time and yeet him into last year."

While the statement seemed to brighten Jia's mood, Spark could tell that Fyr was having trouble believing it himself. Guardians and Ghost started developing neural symbiosis bonds with each other upon the initial resurrection. Over time, the bonds could grow to be pretty extensive. While Spark was unable to tell exactly what was going through his Guardian's mind, he could sense the general direction of his thoughts and emotions. Jia stood up.

"I'm going to go see if anyone needs help with anything," she said, patting Fyr's shoulder.

As she walked away, Spark noticed Fyr's shoulders slump. His Guardian was much more exhausted than he let on. Spark wanted to believe that the loss of the Light was to blame but if he was being honest with himself, Fyr had likely always carried it with him. Making it his job to always lighten the mood was no easy task. Spark worried that he hadn't noticed it before because their bond hadn't been very developed.

Logically, he knew they'd only been together for a few years, but he had a terrible feeling that he'd been slowing the progress himself. After he had first revived Fyr, he'd concluded that his Guardian took nothing seriously. In fact, it wasn't until Jia came into the picture that his opinion began to change. After that, he noticed that the neural symbiosis started to progress faster. He came out of phase.

"Hey, Spark," said Fyr tiredly.

Spark knew he had a tendency to lean toward the negative side of things, something else that Delta had repeatedly pointed out to him. Keeping that in mind, he made an effort to ensure his words were optimistic.

"I'm sure the others made it out of the City. Some of them were off-world and I don't think the Guardians who defeated Crota, Oryx, and Aksis would go down that easily."

Fyr cracked a smile. "_You_ looking on the bright side? Am I having a stroke?"

"I hope not. I wouldn't be able to help you if you were."

Fyr stood up and walked over to the dock, picking up a few stones as he went. Spark watched as he began to skip them over the surface of the water. He marveled at the fact that his Guardian hadn't tried to leave the Farm yet. Hunters had always been notoriously bad at staying in one place for long.

"Think we'll get the City back?" asked Fyr.

Spark considered the question for a moment. "I'm not sure," he said truthfully, "As far as I know, no one's planning to other than Commander Zavala. But you heard what that Guardian said. Titan is lost to the Hive. Hawthorne seems set on making the Farm the 'new' City and so far, nobody's said otherwise."

"Hmm. Think I'd be able to live here, Spark?"

Spark studied him. "Normally I'd be worried about you leaving for the wilds. But you haven't done that yet."

"Nah. What would I do out there? Make friends with the wild animals? All the good company's here… And the food," he added as an afterthought.

"It sounds like you've already decided," he remarked, "What's the point of asking me if you were planning to stay anyway?"

Fyr shrugged. "Interested in what my worrywart Ghost had to say."

"If there was ever a time for worrying, it's now."

Fyr chuckled. "You're not wrong but you gotta learn to be more chill." He caught sight of Tristan a short distance away. "Hey, Tris! Whaddaya think about leaving the Farm?"

Tristan looked up. "Are you asking me because you're considering it?"

Fyr shook his head. "Nah, I already decided I'm gonna stay here. Just wanted to know what you thought."

"Well, I can see why most Guardians want to stay. The Farm is probably the safest place to be right now. However, my fireteam is still out there and I want to find them if possible."

"How would you even start looking?" asked Spark.

"I don't know, but I can't leave them out there."

Fyr sighed. "I'd be with you, dude, but I can't leave Jia. She'd worry about me like crazy. I don't wanna stress her out."

"I understand," said the Warlock, "I just hope I can find them before my ship runs out of fuel. I don't think I would make it to more than a couple planets as it is."

"That, my friend, is a bruh moment. But look on the bright side, my ship's outta fuel now. So you did better than me at least."

Tristan chuckled a bit at that. "I suppose that's always something to shoot for."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Another glimpse into a different Guardian's experiences.


	6. Distance

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The resistance on Titan discovers an additional hurdle in reclaiming the City from the Red Legion.

An entire month had passed since the Guardians had recaptured the Control Center and booted the Hive out of the station as best they could. Kaedro would have liked to say he'd gotten used to the absence of the Light, but he'd be lying. The Light had been a part of him since he was revived a little over a century ago. It generally went unnoticed but could always be felt if you tried. And its presence had become even more obvious since it was taken away. Since the Red Legion struck, Kaedro had been plagued by a sense of emptiness. He tried his best to stay busy so he wouldn't waste time dwelling on it, but even that was much harder now. Without the Light, he couldn't put off sleep and food with the same impudence as before. Everything that had never mattered before was life and death now.

He was supposed to be taking a break, but he couldn't shake the memories of the run he had made to retrieve a Golden Age era CPU from the Arcology. If not for the tanks, he never would have made it out alive. Sloane had wanted to run the op sooner, but Kaedro was glad it had been put off till power was fully restored to the rig and scout teams had been sent into the Arcology. He hadn't heard if they'd been able to decrypt any of the Red Legion's transmissions yet, but he was pretty sure it would happen soon. As though someone had read his thoughts, Jade entered the room looking concerned. This might have unnerved him at one point, but he was pretty sure the Warlock's expression hadn't varied from tired and worried since they'd first arrived on Titan.

"Sloane wants us in the Control Center," she said.

Kaedro pushed himself to his feet and followed after her. "Why?"

"My guess is they've finished decrypting the transmissions."

Uneasiness gathered in Kaedro's mind and he increased his pace. When they got to the room, Sloane was waiting for them with a grim expression. Kaedro saw that Liv and Bazzle had also been summoned.

"What's going on?" he asked.

"I'd like to know that myself," said Zavala.

"I thought all of you should be here for this," said Sloane, "One of the Red Legion transmissions had information on something they call 'the Almighty.'"

She pulled up blueprints on the monitor in front of her depicting a colossal ship that resembled an elongated H. Several diagrams were shown of the Almighty harvesting a planet and firing a beam into a star.

"It was recorded that the Cabal conquered systems by blowing up moons and planets," said Sloane solemnly, "While that wasn't exactly the case, it's true enough overall. And the Almighty is how they do it... Ghaul has subjugated hundreds of worlds. Those that resisted...no longer exist." She turned back to face them. "The Almighty's true function is destabilizing and annihilating stars. When a star goes, it takes the rest of the system with it. And we have reason to believe our Sun is the Almighty's next target."

A cold feeling settled on Kaedro's chest as he turned to look at their Commander. The Titan Vanguard looked broken, defeated.

"What good are walls when we face a threat such as that?" His expression morphed into anger. "...The Red Legion took the City. They took the Traveler and its Light. But we will not let them take anymore. The Almighty must be destroyed." He looked at Sloane. "How long before the Fleet's combat ready?"

"Zavala, wait-"

"We cannot afford to wait. If we wait, we lose everything. We need to act. And… I need my fireteam."

There was a long moment in which no one in the room spoke. Kaedro looked around at his friends. Since no one else seemed to plan on speaking, he took it upon himself.

"Sir, I don't think our position is secure enough for anything like that. I know you want to look for your fireteam, but no one's heard from Cayde or Ikora since the attack."

"Then we search until we find them."

"Look, I know, ok? I know better than anyone what it's like to lose a member of your fireteam... It freakin' sucks but we can't throw everything else to the wind. _You _taught me that. And I might be speaking out of turn, but I think every once in a while, you need to be reminded of your own lessons... We _will _find them. But first, we need a plan."

In the end, it was decided that the station required their attention before any forays to other planets. There was a lot of Hive corruption that had to be undone and Guardians to organize. More had arrived since their foothold was secured and hopefully, they'd keep coming. Kaedro was kept busy in his attempts to narrow down the possible locations of Cayde and Ikora, something easier in theory than it was in practice. And when he wasn't working on that, he and the others were trying to figure out the whereabouts of their friends. Harley, Fyr, Kai, Tristan, Rae, and Rogue were all unaccounted for and hadn't been seen since the day the City fell.

"Jade, you know how many planets and moons there are in the system. Just because they're not here doesn't mean they were killed in the attack."

"Balance of probability," sighed the Warlock.

"Well, we can't focus on that. Zavala's broadcast did its job so far. We just have to hope that they can find their way here."

Jade nodded. "Sloane said things are improving here."

"Hell yeah they are. By the way, nice work stopping that Hive ritual yesterday."

"Thanks... Liv helped out."

"Yeah, well, her ego's big enough as is. You're not gonna catch me feeding that fire."

Jade gave a small laugh that ended too soon. "Did Commander Zavala tell you if he had a plan for stopping the Red Legion?"

"Why would he tell me?"

She shrugged. "No one else heard anything."

Kaedro sighed. "Yeah, here's the thing… He hasn't said anything at all, which makes me think there's no plan. And honestly, that silence has me more worried than if he did have a plan."

"What do you mean by that?"

"He's been acting more...erratic than usual. Which is to say I've never seen him like this before." He fixed the Warlock with a serious look. "Jade...I honest to Light believe that he's gonna storm the City without a plan."

Jade pursed her lips, saying nothing. Kaedro knew how hard it was for her to wrap her mind around. Zavala had always been the man with a plan. Flying blind was Cayde's thing, and to see the Commander adopting that behavior...it was worrying, to say the least.

"What can we do?" Jade asked finally.

Kaedro shook his head. "At this point, I think the only thing we can do is find the other members of the Vanguard asap. And that's not something that'll happen quick."

"The Commander has to know something, right? They're his fireteam. He has to have some idea of where they might go."

"I don't know," said Kaedro, "But it sure as hell wouldn't hurt to ask… C'mon."

He led the way out of the room. If anyone knew where Cayde and Ikora might be, it was Zavala.

The Commander looked vaguely irritated at having been interrupted, but when Kaedro told him why, his expression grew solemn.

"I see," he said. He sighed. "Cayde's behavior is always...difficult to predict. In that respect, you might have more luck than I… Ikora, however… I believe I have an idea of where she might have gone." His tone became more brusque. "Jupiter's moon, Io, was the last place touched by the Traveler before the Collapse. It is viewed as akin to a 'holy site'. I believe there is a good chance that she will be there."

Kaedro nodded, taking in the information. "Io…" he said, "At the very least, it's a good start."

"I'd like to be the one to go," said Jade.

Kaedro shot her a surprised look. He'd expected her to want to stay on Titan. "Are you sure?"

She nodded. "I want to help and I feel like I can help more by finding her than by staying here."

"Ok...but you shouldn't go alone."

"Liv can go with me. That way you and Bazzle can stay here and help with the resistance."

Inwardly, Kaedro sighed in relief. Normally, he'd be first in line for something like that, but after losing his home and most of his friends in one day, he was painfully aware of what - and who - he had left. He and Bazzle had known each other for a long time and he didn't feel that it was right to go off without the Titan.

"Alright," he said, "As long as you're sure."

"I am," she replied, "I'll go let Liv know and we'll leave tomorrow morning." She looked at Zavala. "We'll find her, sir. Whatever it takes."


	7. Dissonance

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Harley and Prism's relationship took a hit when he decided not to seek the Shard of the Traveler. Now he's getting a signal from far out in the system and decides to find its origin, hoping that his Ghost will still support him when he needs it.

Harley's thoughts on surviving in the wilderness? It sucked. He'd never known how many things could kill him outside of the City, but over the past several weeks, he'd had close calls with almost all of them. Starvation, dehydration, predators, exposure, sickness… It seemed like everything was out to get him.

He rubbed absently at his arm where the Warbeast had torn into him as he was leaving the City. As it had begun to heal, he'd stupidly neglected to change the bandages and as a result, had developed an infection. The swelling and coloring of the wound had scared him badly, leading to all kinds of nightmare scenarios, including the loss of his arm. Luckily, he'd been able to treat the infection with warm compresses made from tearing off pieces of his cloak and putting them in boiling water. The infection had passed but sometimes he still found the wound mildly itchy.

He half-expected Prism to chide him about scratching it, but his Ghost remained as silent as ever. She was angry with him. The last time she'd said anything had been advice about treating his infection. She probably thought the cold shoulder treatment would get Harley to change his mind about following the Traveler's vision and resisting the Red Legion. He didn't plan on changing his mind anytime soon.

The Cabal had been challenging adversaries even before the Light was taken. Now that it was gone, they stood no chance. He personally thought the survivors were better off building a new city somewhere else. It would probably be safer. After all, the Legion had only attacked them because Ghaul wanted the Traveler. Resistance at this point was useless. They'd try to take back the City, die, and then there'd be no one left to try resisting. Ghaul was right. They weren't worthy of the Traveler's Light. If they had been, they would've seen the attack coming and stopped it. Instead, the Red Legion had taken over the City and thousands of people had died.

He gave a start as a beeping sound pulled him out of his thoughts. It was coming from his interface. After being badly damaged in his fall from Ghaul's ship, he'd gradually been able to coax it back into a limited, but functioning state. Why was it going off now? He looked at it.

"I… I think I'm getting a transmission." His eyes widened. "It's coming from Sundance."

Sundance was Cayde's Ghost. A transmission from her could only mean that Cayde had to be in some kind of trouble. He smacked his interface to make sure it was displaying correctly.

"It looks like it's being...boosted somehow. It's coming from someplace called Nessus." There was still no comment from his Ghost. He frowned. "My interface barely works, Prism. If it's receiving a transmission, then whatever's boosting has a direct line to me and must be very powerful."

She didn't appear, but he jumped when her voice played in his head. "_Will you be sticking to your 'do nothing' policy?"_

He flinched at her icy tone. "No. If Cayde's in trouble...I have to help him."

"_Aren't you full of surprises,"_ she said sardonically.

"The problem is, we don't have a ship. I sent the Star back to orbit after we landed at the Tower but I'm not sure if my interface can reach it." He sent a command to the ship. "It says the Star is inbound… Hopefully, that's true."

Harley glanced around his campsite. If his ship managed to get there, he had a strong feeling that he wouldn't be returning to it. All the important stuff had been stored by Prism, so he put out the fire and sat down on a nearby rock to wait. A few minutes later, he heard the dull roar of a jump ship overhead. Then his vision went white and with a jolt, he found himself sitting in the pilot seat.

A grin tugged at his lips at the familiarity of being back in his ship. He ran his hands over the console, feeling satisfied. Then, remembering something, he dug around behind him, coming up with an extra helmet. Sliding it on, he smirked. Now let someone tell him storing extra gear in his ship was pointless. Then he leaned forward and input the coordinates for 'Nessus' into the ship's navigation system. The ship calculated it to be a four-hour flight. He checked the fuel levels. Since they'd refueled before the last time they flew, the levels were sufficient enough. Satisfied, he initiated the launch sequence.

The serenity of warp space eased his mind in a way he hadn't known he was missing. It felt good to be doing something he'd done all the time when he had the Light. If he could erase his memories from the past couple of months, it would be like the Red Legion's attack had never happened. Or the tension between himself and Prism. He didn't like the rift that had developed between them. She had always been present in his life, in more ways than one. He'd even call her a part of himself. Her silence was foreign, sitting heavy and oppressive over his head. He could understand why she reacted as she had, but he didn't agree with her. And he'd be damned if he was going to be the one to apologize first. His Ghost was the one that had started the whole thing.

Setting the Star on autopilot, he settled into sleep. He had a long flight ahead and he felt safer now than he'd felt in a long time.

The Star lurched as they broke out of warp. Through the viewscreen, Harley saw a light teal planetoid speckled with red. Diving toward it, the Star broke through the atmosphere, plunging them into the brightest teal sky Harley had ever seen. Without warning, he was transmatted out, landing roughly on the top of a towering spire. Mapped out below him were blocky chunks of light-colored stone covered in red vegetation. Strange looking birds flapped by overhead.

"So much for just a big rock." Unsurprisingly, Prism ignored him. He checked his interface. "It looks like I've got a lock on the signal."

In front of him, he saw some sort of gravity lift leading down to the surface. After taking several deep breaths and crossing his fingers that he wouldn't die from smashing into the ground below, he jumped. Luckily, the tube worked well and he touched down gently.

Prism's curt "I'm getting something" was all the warning Harley had before Cayde's voice filtered through the comms.

"_In over my head… Vex trap… Failsafe?"_

His stomach flipped at the thought of the Hunter Vanguard being caught in a Vex trap.

"We need to find the source of the signal," he said, looking around. "...Something tells me that might be it."

He pointed to ship that had crashed into one of the stone walls, teetering on the edge of a steep cliff. Climbing down from the small platform, he jogged over to the crash site. Prism materialized next to him to scan the ship. Harley jumped as an insanely cheerful female voice greeted him over the comms.

"_Hello! Are you here to rescue the Cayde-6?"_

"Uhhh. We're gonna try. Where is he?"

"_The Cayde-6 is currently caught in a teleportation loop. He's over there. Oop! Now he's over there. Oop!"_

"He's...what?"

"_I can help you! But I'm gonna be super unpleasant about it."_

Harley's mind reeled as he tried to keep up. Her dramatic switch in tone threw him off. "I'm confused."

"_I have uploaded his new coordinates to you! ...Against my better judgment."_

"Uh, ok? Sounds good."

He started walking, marveling at the sights while remaining wary in the event of an attack. The perky voice spoke up again.

"_May I help you with anything else?"_

"Yeah. Who...are you exactly?"

"_I am the Exodus Black's failsafe. Call me Failsafe! I boosted the Cayde-6's signal in hopes he would be rescued. And look! Here you are!"_

"I don't get it."

"_I'm an AI, stupid,"_ said Failsafe's irritated voice.

"Oh."

He stopped at the edge of a circular pit. At first glance, he could tell that falling into it would almost certainly kill him. But a second glance revealed a mostly functional staircase winding down. As he descended, he asked Failsafe about Nessus' environment.

"_A robotic alien entity called the Vex have achieved 92.014 percent conversion of the Centaur Nessus."_

A cold feeling worked its way into Harley's stomach. Why'd it have to be the Vex? Finally, after a somewhat risky drop, he made it to the bottom. Glancing around cautiously for any sign of Vex, he continued forward, finally arriving at a stone circle surrounded in pillars. Suspended in a shifting white grid was Cayde.

"Cayde!"

"Someone there?" asked the Exo, "Listen, don't ask me how this happened - I don't have time to explain what I don't have time to understand."

The grid around him glowed white and he vanished.

"CADYE!"

Then the spire in the middle of the circle shot energy to the pillars, revealing Vex Goblins inside.

"_Warning!"_ said Failsafe cheerfully, "_The Vex will vaporize you!"_

"Crap!"

He knew there was no way he'd be able to fight them all without the Light, so he whirled and sprinted out of there, not stopping until there was no sign of any Vex. He paused, gasping.

"Failsafe...any sign...of Cayde?"

"_According to his new coordinates, he is now even deeper within Vex territory!"_

Harley groaned. "Wonderful… How the hell did he manage to get himself stuck in the first place?"

"_The Cayde-6 attempted to manipulate the Vex portal system. He is now trapped in a nonlinear loop. In my defense, I tried to warn him. He's like, not that smart."_

Harley frowned. What could prompt Cayde to mess with Vex portals?

"How long have you been on Nessus?"

"_Long enough to see the Vex convert this entire planetoid, kill all living organisms, reformat molecules, and digitize brainwaves for further study. It's a fascinating process!"_

"Cool," deadpanned Harley, "You said you were part of a ship, right? What happened to your crew?"

"_Only my captain can access those memories! And he's super dead."_

"I regret asking," he muttered, "Look, killing Vex isn't gonna work for me right now. Failsafe, is there any way you could, I dunno, transport me to the coordinates?"

Failsafe's irritated side answered him. "_Do I look like a taxi service to you?"_

"Well, is there a way that you could boost my Ghost? Y'know, like you boosted Cayde's signal?"

"_Interesting theory, friend!"_ said Failsafe cheerfully, "_I believe I can assist your Ghost with transmatting capabilities. Hold onto your butt."_

Harley flinched as his vision went white. He materialized in a circular chamber across from a Vex gate.

"Thanks, Failsafe."

"_You are welcome! The Cayde-6 is just beyond that Vex Gate. Please proceed."_

Harley laughed nervously. "As long as you're sure I won't get stuck like Cayde…"

"_Oh no. My judgment module is much more reliable than the Cayde Unit's."_

"That's not saying much," he muttered, making his way around the room and entering the gate.

The gate took him to a large platform whose left side dropped off into empty space. Cayde was hovering in the air, still encased in the white grid. The Hunter Vanguard must have caught sight of Harley because he called out to him.

"Hey! Over here! Get me out of here!" But next to Cayde, an enormous Hydra teleported in. "What's that? That a Hydra? Ok, yeah, yeah- no, handle that first. Then me!"

"For the love of the Traveler's Light, I really hope my rocket launcher has ammo."

It was dropped onto the ground in front of him. He picked it up, finding that it was indeed loaded. He breathed a sigh of relief.

"I think I can do this."

Hefting the rocket launcher onto his shoulder, he backed up and waited for the gap to appear in the Vex's shield. When it did, he fired two rockets. The Hydra screeched and bombarded him with blasts of Void. He dove behind a pillar, painfully aware of his mortality as he reloaded. Gradually, the Hydra's fire slowed down, allowing him to step around the opposite side of the pillar and send two more rockets into the machine. The massive Vex crashed to the ground, its shell exploding. Distantly, he heard Cayde telling him to get over there. Prism stored his rocket launcher and he hurried over to the Vanguard.

"Cayde, what were-"

"Stop-stop-stop-stop. Look-look. Long story and it may look like I don't know what I'm doing, but I do- K, maybe not- doesn't matter. Killing the power source at the origin point should break the loop and get me out of the portal system. Have you got that? Say you've got it. Say something!"

"Ok, yeah. But how-"

"Oh my cotton socks! Did you not hear what I just said?!" The Exo vanished again, pulling a sigh from Harley.

"_Sounds like you'd better find that origin point,"_ said Failsafe.

"Yeah... You know something? ...I don't think he recognized me."


	8. Detour

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Jade and Liv locate Ikora on Io and have a much-needed conversation. Upon returning to Titan, Liv considers the resistance and the part she plays in it.

Jade stifled a sigh as Liv started pacing again. She supposed it was to be expected, given the natural restlessness of Hunters, but that didn't mean it wasn't irritating. And yet, part of her sympathized with the Awoken Guardian. They had traveled to Io expecting to find Ikora and leave on the same day. It had been five days now, and they still hadn't left. The Warlock Vanguard had proven to be surprisingly reluctant to join the resistance. When they had first approached her about going to Titan with them, she had replied that resistance was useless given the lack of Light. Liv had gotten angry and stormed off for a while. Jade had wanted to follow her, but Delta told her to give the Hunter some time to cool down on her own.

Jade looked up at the darkening sky. Their fifth day on Jupiter's moon was coming to a close. How many more would they spend there? She noticed Ikora sitting cross-legged on the bluff that overlooked the place where the Traveler had been at one time. The Warlock Vanguard rarely left that spot. Jade crossed over to sit next to her, gazing out over the moon's surface. After a stretch of silence, Ikora spoke.

"After the Red Legion attacked, I received a vision from the Traveler. It told me to go to the Shard and reclaim my Light... I went to the Shard and yet my Light remained lost."

"I had the same vision," Jade admitted, "But I didn't go. I couldn't leave my friends."

"If you had gone, would it even matter? Would the Shard have granted your Light back or would you be Lightless still?"

"...You told me when we arrived that you came to Io to look for answers."

Ikora nodded. "I came because I had to know why. Why was the Light kept from me? And after all this time, I'm still no closer to knowing."

"If the Red Legion really came here looking for a way to harvest the Traveler's energy, it's even more important that you come with us to Titan. We can't give them a chance to use what they learned."

"There's no point, Jade. That was weeks ago. For all we know, they've already used it against us."

At this Liv, who'd been leaning against a rock flipping her knife as she listened, stalked forward.

"Who cares?" she demanded, "What kind of Guardians are we if we let the Red Legion go on controlling everything?"

"Liv-"

"No, Jade! We can't sit around and hope the Light will come back by itself 'cause we know that's not happening. It's like Titan all over again! If I'm going to die my final death, then it's gonna be when I'm fighting to get the City back."

Ikora studied her. "..I believe you're right," she said, "Light or no Light, we can't abandon the City or the Traveler." She smiled wryly. "Thank you for getting me out of my own head, Hunter." She got to her feet. Jade stood up as well. "Should we succeed in taking back the City, I think we'll have to start sending Guardians out here. Io has worse troubles than the Red Legion… Now, let's see about getting to Titan."

Once Ikora got into her ship, Jade summoned her own. She waited until Liv was seated in the passenger's seat before setting their course.

"Take us out please, Delta."

"To Titan we go," her Ghost replied.

Jade settled in for the flight. While she could pilot the ship herself, it had never been something she was very comfortable with. Luckily, Delta didn't mind flying for her. She sighed. More than ever, she wished Harley was there. She knew how much he enjoyed flying. Wherever he was in the system, she hoped he at least had the Star with him. Liv leaned forward.

"Whatcha thinking about?"

Jade sighed. "Oh, you know...wondering where the others are, if they're ok…"

"I'm guessing when you say 'others,' you mean 'Harley.'"

Jade looked at the Hunter in surprise. Liv noticed, laughing.

"How did you know?"

"C'mon, don't insult my intelligence. It's plain as day that you've got it bad for that boy."

Jade's face heated up. "Do the others know?"

Liv shrugged. "Who knows? What I wanna know is why you haven't done anything about it yet."

"I- well, it was just a stupid crush at first. I didn't think it would go further than that. I even told Harley about it, but I lied and said I wasn't crushing on him anymore."

Liv groaned. "You know you made everything that much harder on yourself right?"

Jade sighed. "Delta said the same thing… But he said he wasn't ready for a relationship anyway, so it doesn't matter."

Liv nodded. "Uh-huh. And when exactly did this go down?"

"It was while he was recovering in the med bay after the Ghosts healed him."

"Right. And you don't think his answer had anything to do with the fact that he'd just been Taken by Oryx? An event that would've most certainly messed him up?"

"Oh...I didn't really think about it that way," said Jade sheepishly, "How...much do you think it messed him up?"

Liv sighed. "Jade, I've been a Guardian for a long time. I'm not a doctor or anything, but I'd be extremely surprised if an event like that didn't have any consequences after the fact."

"Physical consequences?"

"He _was _cleared in that department, so I'd say no. But mentally? Well, do you remember when we went to the City and he nearly Arc Bladed a bunch of civilians?" Jade winced. She did remember. "Yeah, I'm willing to bet all my Glimmer that the incident with Oryx gave him PTSD."

Jade shivered. "That makes a lot of sense… I didn't know Guardians could suffer from it. I mean, couldn't Ghosts...fix it or something?"

Liv shook her head, looking very serious. "Ghosts don't mess with their Guardians' heads. To call it 'taboo' wouldn't even cover it. There's some things that Ghosts just can't fix." She studied Jade. "Have you two talked about things since he and Kyler broke up?"

The Warlock shook her head. Harley hadn't been around all that much in the months leading up to the attack on the City. She told Liv as much. The Hunter nodded, her brow furrowed.

"Yeah...Been trying to figure that out." She clarified after a confused look from Jade. "Ace and Kyler. I mean, they were pretty good together. And you can ask Rhys if you don't believe me."

Her Ghost appeared at her side. "It's true," he said, "The other Ghosts in the Tower thought they were a good couple. No one could figure out what happened with them... Well, Prism knows, but she's not sharing."

Jade heard Delta in her head. "_Ghost gossip circles are the best way to keep up with things happening in the Tower." _

_"...Please tell me you never talked about me." _

_"Sorry Jade, but you and Harley provided most of the couple talk before Fyr and Jia."_

Jade blushed. "_But we weren't a couple." _

_"Yes, but you _could _be."_

Jade paused, thinking. "Be honest, Liv… Do you think Harley and I would work out?"

"You kidding me? Absolutely! You two would be so cute together!"

"But weren't you thinking that Harley and Kyler were a couple before they actually got together?"

"Well, yeah. I liked Kyler a lot, actually. But y'know...if you snooze, you lose. And his loss could be your gain."

Jade's blush deepened. It felt weird to be talking about such trivial things in the face of what could become the extinction of Guardians.

"I guess we'll see once things calm down." The 'if' was implied.

Liv nodded. "Sounds like a plan."

* * *

The silence stretched on between them, something that Liv felt surprisingly thankful for. She appreciated the time to think. Ever since the Red Legion attacked, she'd been one of the people pushing hardest to take the City back. The wheel had started spinning the moment she arrived on Titan. Find her fireteam. Join the resistance. Take back the base. Find out what the Cabal are up to. Reclaim the City. Get the Light back. She couldn't give up and therefore no one else was allowed to either. She'd pushed hard to get the Control Center back. Two Guardians had been lost. She knew she'd probably have that overhead for a long while. But that was a problem for Future Liv to deal with. Present Liv was preoccupied.

In some ways, she was patient. She could stalk a target for days, plan ambushes, and execute stealthy assassinations. All of those things required patience that most Hunters had in themselves somewhere, herself included. However, she could lose patience quickly when it came to certain things. The trip to Io had tested her a lot. She hadn't come all the way out to Jupiter's moon to hear from one of the Vanguard that the resistance was pointless. She probably could have been more understanding when it came to Ikora's reasons, but it didn't matter now. Now they needed to take action. And that was something she prided herself in. She had lived in and defended the City since the Dark Age. She wasn't about to let some Cabal scare her off.

With a sigh, she leaned against the side of the ship, staring off into warp space. She figured she might as well catch some sleep. They had Ikora with them. Chances were they'd hit the ground running as soon as they got back to Titan. Her eyes fell closed and she soon drifted off to the steady hum of the jump ship.

When Liv woke, she found that they were approaching the base. Once they were a few feet off the ground, their Ghosts transmatted them out. Liv instantly pulled up her hood to fend off the neverending rain.

"What's the plan?" she asked as she followed Jade inside.

The Warlock shrugged. "I'm not sure. Ikora said she'd meet with Zavala and let us know."

"What? Then what are we supposed to do while we wait?"

Jade shrugged again. "Go scouting? Train? I'm probably going to get some rest."

"You didn't sleep on the way over?"

"It's always been hard for me to sleep while flying so I usually don't bother trying."

"Alright, I'm gonna head out. I'll see you later."

With that, she headed away from the Control Center. Sometime after the Guardians had cleared the area, she'd come across what seemed to have been an old storage bay. It was dark but secluded and had plenty of room. She'd wasted no time in turning it into her personal training space. After securing the door behind her, she removed her cloak, hanging it on a support beam. Then she stripped off her armor until she wore only her undersuit. Rhys appeared and floated over to rest on a nearby crate before letting out a beam of light to illuminate the space. Liv shot a smile at him as she began warming up with stretches. Her training routine was one of the few things that never failed to give her peace of mind. Most Guardians established their own routines eventually, although she had yet to know if the practice had been adopted by the newer ones.

Once she was sufficiently warmed up, she slipped into yoga, starting with simple poses and working up to more difficult ones. Yoga had always been a favorite of hers. She'd known a lot of Guardians who looked down on it, but almost nothing was better for maintaining both strength and flexibility. She'd tried to convince the other Hunters to join her on several occasions but Harley had been the only one who'd actually done it. He seemed to enjoy it, so they'd made it a regular thing. He was getting pretty good.

Liv had always thought it would be a good idea to have a full-on yoga class with all the Hunters in the Tower. Make it into mandatory training, even. There used to be proper Guardian training too. And assessments to find out which class a Guardian belonged to. She had no idea why the practices didn't continue, but it wasn't really her place to tell the Vanguard how they should run things.

Untangling herself from her final pose, she retrieved her knives from her boots and went through various attack and defense patterns. Normally, she would have sparred, but Harley wasn't there. She transitioned to throwing, but she couldn't stop thinking about her fireteam and the other Chasers. They had to get the City back. She had to see her friends again.

Her next knife missed. She stomped over to pick it up, deciding that she was too worked up to continue. She felt the sudden need to shoot some Hive. After putting her armor and cloak back on, she had Rhys fetch her sniper rifle. Getting up close wasn't worth the risk without her Light, but she could still pick them off at range.

A bitter smile on her face, she left the room to hunt down some bad guys.


	9. Dynamic

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Harley gets Cayde out of the loop and they leave Nessus to use the Vex teleporter on Ghaul.

It took him a while, but Harley was eventually able to make it to the coordinates Failsafe had sent, putting him next to some sort of comm station.

"Alright we're at your coords," he said, "Do you know where the power source is?"

"_Oh yes! By locating the original Vex Teleporter the Cayde Unit used, you can shut down the loop and free him. I can guide you there."_

"Fantastic."

Along the cliffside to his right, he located an opening and made his way into the passage. The path led out into a small chamber with a stone platform in the middle. Covering most of the floor was radiolaria.

"Crossing this is gonna be fun."

Leaping precariously between the rocks, he was able to slowly make his way through the tunnel. There were a few close calls, but he was thankful when he reached solid ground not having touched a single drop of the vex mind fluid. The next room he came across contained about a dozen Harpies. He stuck to the shelter of the rocks and shot them down with his Freelancer.

As he continued toward the coordinates, he wondered at Cayde's reasons for coming to Nessus of all places. After all, it was on the outskirts of the system and he'd never heard anything important about it before. He decided to ask Failsafe.

"Why did Cayde come here?"

"_He asked me not to tell anyone,"_ she said helpfully.

Harley sighed. That was not helpful.

He emerged into a large chamber with more radiolaria. Luckily, there was a lot more room to stand. He was about to press on when a warning from Failsafe caused him to stop.

"_Warning! Vex threat detected! They are blocking your path to the Cayde Unit's teleporter. You will have to eliminate them."_

"Oh boy…"

He backed up as Vex teleported into the room. Most of them were Fanatics, a type of Vex he'd only ever seen in the Vault of Glass. Keeping to the back wall, he took them out with a few well-placed shots. Their explosive nature not only made them more dangerous to Guardians but to other Vex as well. More waves of Fanatics followed, but it wasn't until Goblins and Minotaurs appeared that Harley had to get creative. By staying at the back, he ensured that he wouldn't get surrounded, but there were so many Vex that dodging shots was a constant challenge. His shields took a few too many hits for comfort.

When all the Vex had been destroyed, he had to take a minute to calm his racing heart. Fighting without the Light was giving him a vastly different perspective.

"_I thought your wholesale destruction of the Vex would make me miss my captain and crewless."_

"Guessing it didn't?"

"_Correct."_

Harley sighed, before pressing onward. Through a small opening and up some stairs, he came into a circular room with a piece of machinery in the middle. His HUD was telling him he'd reached Failsafe's coordinates.

"That the teleporter?"

"_Yes! The Cayde-6 will want it. You should pick it up!"_

Prism appeared in front of him to store it away.

"_Take that you scrap heap!"_ yelled Cayde through the comms, "_I'm out!"_

"Where are you?" asked Harley.

"_Holy Traveler, kid? That you?"_

"It's me."

"_You did it! You got me out! And...wh-where- where am I?"_

"_Cayde Unit, you are near the remains of my reactor core. Welcome to the Exodus Black. Where all your dreams come true."_

"Alright," said Harley, "Guess it's time to head back to the surface."

He started walking.

Thanks to Failsafe boosting Prism a few more times, Harley was able to wire up an explosive outside of the Exodus Black to take care of the Fallen that were after Cayde. He was extremely thankful to enter the ship no worse for wear than he'd been when he'd arrived on Nessus. As he lugged the Vex teleporter inside, he spotted Sundance peering out at him from behind a crate. He removed his helmet, smiling at her.

"Hey, Sundance."

Cayde popped up next to her, eyes locking onto Harley and the Vex teleporter on the floor.

"Well, son of a Dredgen… How've ya been, Ace?"

Harley chuckled slightly as the Hunter Vanguard walked over. "Honestly… I've been better."

Cayde wrapped him in a hug. "I know what you mean," he said wryly, releasing Harley and stepping back to look him over. "Still got all your limbs though. That counts for somethin'."

Harley nodded. That was true. He could've fared a lot worse.

"Last I heard, you were up on that big Cabal ship," said Cayde, "How the hell did you make it out?"

"The Red Legion's leader found me right after I took out the shields and got on deck. His name is Ghaul. When they caged the Traveler, there was nothing I could do but keep myself from passing out. He talked a bit about the Light and the Traveler, then he kicked me off. Next thing I knew, I woke up in a crater two days later."

"Mother of Darkness! You fell off that ship without the Light? Kid, I honestly don't know how you're standing in front of me right now."

"Neither do I… I managed to get out of the City, then I was camping out in the wilderness until I picked up your distress signal."

Cayde shook his head. "You're somethin' else, Ace. That's for sure. My end's a whole lot less interesting… One minute we were workin' our asses off fighting the Red Legion outta the City. Next thing we know, the Light's gone. Any Guardian with sense hightailed it outta there as soon as they could."

Harley nodded, trying not to think about his friends and what might have happened to them. "So how did you end up here? And why do you need a Vex teleporter?"

"Ah, right. Almost forgot." Cayde knelt next to the teleporter and began to fiddle with it. "I'm here 'cause the Vex're here."

"But-"

"As for the teleporter, I'm gonna use it to get onto Ghaul's ship and take him out. And not in the romantic way."

Harley thought it over. It was a pretty good plan, all things considered. How well it would work was a different question altogether.

"Would it really make any difference if we killed Ghaul?" he asked, "The Red Legion would still have control of the City."

Cayde shrugged. "I figure elmininatin' their leader might throw 'em into a panic. Give us an edge in takin' back the City."

Harley frowned. Even with a plan as straightforward-sounding as the one Cayde had, the chance that they'd actually be able to defeat Ghaul was incredibly slim without the Light. Let alone reclaiming the City.

"How do you plan to get onto Ghaul's ship?" he asked.

"No clue. I'll cross that bridge when I get to it. Your ship got enough fuel to make it back to Earth? I kinda wrecked mine."

Harley nodded. "Just to Earth. We can't take any detours."

Cayde stood up, picking up the teleporter. "Don't need to now that I've got this!" he said brightly, patting it.

Harley used his interface to call the Star.

"Right, then," said Cayde, "Bye Failsafe! We'll come visit ya, assuming we don't die."

"Goodbye, Cayde Unit! Goodbye, Captain!"

"Goodbye," said Harley.

The two Hunters made their way out of the Exodus Black. After a few moments, the Star glided down, hovering above them. Their Ghosts transmatted them inside. As Harley input a course for Earth, Cayde stored the Vex teleporter in an empty storage space behind the seats, sitting down as the ship was guided into space. Harley could feel Cayde looking over his shoulder as he entered warp before switching to autopilot.

"There's no way the warp time's that short!" the Vanguard exclaimed, "It took me way longer than that to get here and I know it ain't the orbits."

"My NLS drive got upgraded a while back," said Harley.

"Yeah right, kid. There's only one drive out there that's faster than Amanda's and it sure as hell hasn't been released yet."

Harley sighed. "If you must know...it was Kyler. He got me the drive as a Dawning gift."

Cayde whistled. "Damn… Speakin' of Kyler, where's he been? Haven't seen him since...well, it was a while. Didn't I threaten him?"

"Yes," said Harley shortly, "And he left five months ago."

"Breakup?"

"You can say that."

Harley really didn't want to think about Kyler. It had been way more than a breakup. Try shot in the chest and left for dead. He'd asked Prism what had happened after Kyler shot him. She'd told him that neighbors had come out to investigate the noise, causing him to flee the scene. Harley never asked again. He didn't need to remind himself how broken up inside the incident had made him feel. Or how chilling it was to have someone he thought he was close with nearly end him for good. He'd survived on a fluke and it had shaken him badly.

"Yeah, well he wasn't good enough for you anyway," said Cayde.

Harley side-eyed him. "...Isn't it sort of your job to say that?"

Cayde shrugged. "Hell if I know… Do you want me to act like a dad? 'Cause believe me, I can pull it off. And I'll start by tellin' ya to go cut the grass."

Harley felt a smile forming on his face. "What grass?"

"Don't sass me or you're grounded for a month."

Harley laughed and held up his hands in surrender. As they flew on, a thought occurred to him. "Cayde… After the City fell, did you get any visions from the Traveler?"

The Hunter Vanguard chuckled. "Don't know. Maybe I did. Then again, I'm not sure I'd know a vision from the Traveler if it bit me on the ass. Bein' an Exo comes with its own set of weirdness."

"What do you mean by that?"

There was a short pause before Cayde spoke. "Did Kay ever tell ya about the Deep Stone Crypt?"

The name was unfamiliar to Harley. He shook his head.

"I'm not surprised he didn't… It ain't somethin' anyone wants to hear about."

"What is it?"

When Cayde didn't answer immediately, Harley turned around. The Exo was staring out into warp space, looking troubled.

"All Exos dream about it. You're tryin' to cross a plain to get to a tower. Thing is, there's an army in your way."

Harley frowned. "So you have to kill them?"

Cayde nodded. "Sometimes you kill them. Other times, they kill you."

Harley considered this. "And this dream...it's the same for everyone?"

"...It's the same tower."

The way he said it made Harley think that there were other differences. But for whatever reason, he didn't want to share them. Knowing that pushing him wouldn't work, Harley decided to change the subject.

"So this plan of yours… How's it going to work, exactly?"

Cayde shrugged. "Figurin' it out as I go."

Harley gave a light snort at that. He'd become quite adept at that philosophy himself. "I guess part of a plan is better than nothing."

"Damn right it is!"

Harley chuckled. "Is there anywhere on Earth we're aiming for in particular? I'd rather not fly near the City. Don't want the Star getting shot down by the Red Legion."

"I hear ya on that one," said Cayde, "Tell you what...let's head for the Cosmodrome. It's far enough from the City but still close by. And we know the area."

"You sure you can still find your way around?" Harley teased, "All those years in the Tower might've taken their toll."

"One: I can find my way around just fine. Two: I'll have you know that you're a terrible child."

Harley had to laugh at that. Even with all the horrible things that had happened and how much the past couple months had beaten him down, at least there were some things that hadn't changed.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I didn't plan on having this much of a Cayde and Harley moment, but writing it healed my soul.


	10. Destination

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It's finally time for the resistance on Titan to join up with the refugees at the Farm. But while they are able to reunite with some familiar faces, others are still missing.

"The fact still remains that a frontal assault on the City is doomed to fail," said Ikora tiredly, "Especially with the threat of the Red Legion putting this 'Almighty' into play."

"Agreed," said Zavala, "The Almighty must be eliminated for this to succeed-"

"And we have no way to make that happen! None of our ships would make it close enough to even scratch the Almighty."

Next to Jade, Kaedro heaved a sigh. The Vanguard had been arguing about the same thing ever since Ikora had returned. Round in round they went, talking in circles. Jade had to agree with the Exo. It was getting more than a bit tiresome to hear.

"They're gonna stand here arguing until we all die of old age," muttered Kaedro, "And seeing as that could actually happen now…"

"I'm sure they'll come around eventually," said Jade. But she didn't feel very confident saying it.

Suddenly, Liv burst into the room and glanced around before rushing over to Jade and Kaedro. "Guys! Kai's alive!" she exclaimed breathlessly.

"Did you find her?" asked Jade.

Liv shook her head, eyes bright with excitement. "I was over in the communication tower and I picked up a transmission she sent a while back. She and Rae have been poking around in the European Dead Zone to see what the Cabal have been up to."

Jade let out a sigh of relief. Rae and Kai were both okay. Kaedro seemed to latch onto a different piece of information.

"Why the EDZ?" he asked.

"I guess there's been a lot of Red Legion activity in that area. I sent her a message to bring her up to speed on everything and waited until I heard back to make sure she got it. Get this: she said she might know how we can take out the Almighty."

At this, Jade noticed Zavala and Ikora focus on them. They had stopped arguing when Liv barged in and had apparently been listening in.

"How?" asked Jade.

"Apparently there's a high-ranking Cabal Commander in the EDZ. Thumos the Unbroken. Kai thinks they can steal his ship and use it to get onto the Almighty to sabotage the weapon."

"She wants to steal a ship from this Commander?" asked Kaedro incredulously, "Without the Light?"

"That's suicide," said Jade.

"It may be our only option," said Zavala gravely. He sighed. "We should mobilize what Guardians we have and make for Earth. Waiting here will solve nothing."

"If we leave, we're giving the Hive a chance to reclaim this base," argued Sloane, "If things go sideways, we can't afford to lose our foothold."

"If things go sideways, it may not matter… However, you make a good point. I'm putting you in charge of this station. We'll leave several Guardians - volunteers - behind with you."

Sloane nodded. "Yes, sir."

Zavala turned. "As for the rest of you...prepare your ships. We fly back to Earth today."

They nodded and left the room. Making their way to the room they'd been staying in since the foothold had been established on the station, they began to gather what supplies they had.

"Liv, you know Kai best," said Jade, "Do you think she'll wait for backup?"

The Awoken bit her lip. "It's hard to say. Either way, the sooner we get back, the better."

Kaedro nodded. "Do you two have enough fuel to get back to Earth?"

"I do," said Liv.

"I'm not sure," said Jade, "I used a lot of mine getting to Io and back."

"You can siphon some of mine," said Kaedro, "My ship can hold more, so it shouldn't be a problem."

"Thanks, Kaedro."

"No problem," said the Hunter easily, "Actually, we'd better get that out of the way now. If you land your ship in that open area outside of the Control Center, I can get you some fuel while you finish up here."

Jade nodded, sending the command to her ship. After Kaedro left to make the fuel transfer, she checked around the room, making sure they'd gotten everything they were after. She was glad to hear from Kai and Rae. The more of her friends that were accounted for, the more at ease she felt. But the only way she'd be able to fully relax would be once she heard from the Chasers who were still MIA. Tristan, Fyr, Rogue, and Harley.

She was particularly concerned about Harley. Apart from never having been quite the same since Phobos, the Hunter had been acting distant since spring had started. He took on more patrols and kept to himself way more often than he had before. She suspected his breakup with Kyler to be part of the reason, despite knowing almost nothing about it. Judging by Harley refusing to share details, it was likely he and the mechanic hadn't parted on good terms. What was stranger was how Kyler seemed to have disappeared entirely following these events. It was as if he'd simply vanished from existence. No notice, no messages, nothing. Jade found it more than a bit odd, but it also wasn't her business.

After one last glance around the room, she headed out to the area where the ships would land. Kaedro waved as he put a portable fuel tank back in his ship. All around them the air was filled with the sound of chatter as Guardians hurried around, preparing for the trip back to Earth. Ships passed overhead frequently, scouting for places to pick up or drop off their Guardians. Jade looked up as Bazzle approached.

"Hey Baz!" greeted Kaedro, "Zavala say where we're heading?"

The Titan nodded. "There's been reports of a survivor camp in the European Dead Zone called the Farm. That's where Commander Zavala is directing us."

"Sounds like fun," said Liv cheerfully, "We cleared to go?"

"Soon."

"The sooner, the better," Liv muttered to Jade, "I'm hoping to see some familiar faces at the Farm."

Jade nodded. Hopefully, Harley would be there with the rest of them. She watched as Bazzle seemed to listen to something.

"Commander Zavala says we are free to take off," he told them, "Let's get back to Earth."

Liv whooped and transmatted into her ship. Jade had Delta do the same and fidgeted with the edge of her robes as the Ghost set their course.

"Ready to get back?" Delta asked.

Jade smiled nervously. "More than ready."

"Taking us out!"

The ship smoothly lifted off from the landing zone, beginning its ascent into the sky. Out of the sides of her viewscreen, Jade could see the ships of other Guardians as they left the moon's atmosphere. As they entered warp space, Delta informed her of the travel time.

"It'll take us six hours to reach Earth."

Jade sighed. Six hours was nothing compared to pre-Golden Age travel times, but she wished they could just be there already. The suspense was doing nothing to help her nerves.

"I think I'll try to get some sleep… Would you wake me up when we get there?" she asked.

"Certainly!" said Delta.

Jade thanked her before leaning back into her seat.

She woke to the ship shuddering as they passed through the Earth's atmosphere. She'd spent most of the flight in a half-asleep state. Sitting up, she strained to see where they were heading.

The environment below looked lush and green. The ships skimmed over the surface of a huge lake, closing in on several lit-up structures on one of the shores. As they neared, Jade could make out a large gathering of figures waiting near the landing zone. She couldn't tell if anyone she knew was there but hopefully she'd get a better look once she was down there.

Delta lowered the ship, slowing it down as they came in. Jade felt the transmat take her and in a few seconds, she was landing on the grass in front of the group. Liv, Kaedro, and Bazzle were close behind. In front of everyone else stood a woman in a periwinkle poncho. Dark brown hair showed at the top of her head, the rest was engulfed by her hood. A circular pattern of dots decorated her face and a sniper rifle was slung across her back. She was most likely the leader. Suddenly a voice called out from somewhere in the crowd.

"Jade!"

Jade looked around, trying to find the source.

"Jade! Over here!"

Someone was pushing their way to the front. She was able to make out a mob of reddish-orange hair right before Fyr came barrelling through to hug her.

"Fyr?"

"Who else?"

As Jade hugged him back, she noticed a couple more familiar faces appear behind him.

"Tristan!" yelled Liv, flinging herself at the Warlock.

Tristan staggered, but Jade saw his face light up. Hugs were exchanged between everyone before the leader cleared her throat.

"I take it you know each other," she said wryly. They nodded. "Well, I'm Suraya Hawthorne," she said, "Welcome to the Farm."

Bazzle shook her hand. "We are happy to be here," he said.

"Happy to have you. Not sure we got enough space to fit all of you, but more pairs of hands are always welcome."

"We won't be staying very long," said Bazzle, "We have come from the resistance on Titan to take the City back from the Red Legion."

Murmurs broke out amongst the refugees at the news. Hawthorne was still smiling, but some of the warmth had gone.

"That's about what I figured you Guardians were after."

Bazzle seemed like he was about to respond when the crowd behind Hawthorne let out a cheer. Jade turned to see Zavala and Ikora walking up.

"Torelli is correct," said Zavala, "We have come here to regroup before staging an assault on the City."

The murmurs of the crowd rose in excitement. "When?" one voice shouted.

"Soon," the Commander replied, "But before we can do anything, it's imperative that we have a plan of attack. You will hear from us when it is time."

Jade felt a tug on her arm and turned. Her friends were moving away. As she followed them, she noticed Zavala and Ikora talking to Hawthorne. For whatever reason, Hawthorne hadn't seemed pleased that the Guardians were planning to reclaim the City. The crowd of refugees was also breaking up, though many stuck around to greet the Guardians transmatting in. The group stopped once they were a sufficient distance from everyone else.

"It's so good to see you guys," said Jia.

"It's good to see you too," said Kaedro, "What happened on your end?"

"Jia and I were eating lunch in the City," said Fyr, "As soon as those Cabal dudes started attacking, we ran inside and stayed there. But then my Light went poof and I knew we had to get the hell out."

"I was on patrol," said Tristan, "So I was already out of the City when the Red Legion attacked. I picked up a signal directing me here later."

"Kaedro and I were in the Cosmodrome," said Bazzle, "When we heard Commander Zavala's broadcast, we left for Titan."

"Same," said Liv, "Except I was on Mars poking around Freehold."

"I was on Venus," said Jade, "Do any of you know what the others were doing?"

"Kai said she and Rae were on Luna," said Liv, "Apparently the Exiles disappeared."

"That's been happening with Fallen all over the system," said Kaedro, "They've been retreating since spring. I head a couple Guardians even found burned House banners."

"I saw a lot of Fallen in the EDZ," Fyr put in, "Buncha purple guys."

Tristan nodded. "According to one of Hawthorne's scouts, Devrim Kay, the majority of the Fallen have united under a new House... House Dusk."

"We'd know more if we could talk to Rae and Kai," said Liv, "They've been out in the EDZ for a long time, gathering info on the Red Legion."

"Why aren't they here?" asked Jade.

Liv shrugged. "Kai said she had an idea for getting to the Almighty. Maybe that's what they're working on."

"We should go find them," said Kaedro, "Even without the Almighty thing, they've been scouting the Cabal. I'd like to know as much as I can about what we'll be up against."

"Let's fly out first thing tomorrow!" said Liv, "Better than waiting for the Vanguard to come up with a battle plan and end up needing us."

Kaedro nodded. "I agree."

"I'll come," Jade volunteered.

"I will stay at the Farm and assist with preparations," said Bazzle.

Fyr shot a look at Jia before saying, "Me too."

"I'd like to join you," said Tristan, "I feel like I've been at the Farm long enough."

"We can take my ship," Kaedro offered.

"Sounds good," said Liv, "Have it meet us here tomorrow and we can go… Now!" She looked around. "Any of you know where we can get some sleep?"


	11. Decedent

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Chasers go looking for Kai and Rae in the EDZ and then reconvene at the Farm, where the Vanguard has formulated a plan of attack.

The Guardians left early the next morning, trying not to disturb anyone else. As they flew over the European Dead Zone, Liv spoke up.

"When I last talked to Kai, she said they were in a place called the Gulch. That's probably our best chance of finding them."

Kaedro nodded. "It's not far out at all," he said, "Should still be able to see the Shard from there."

He brought the ship lower, flying in wide circles. Liv felt anticipation coil in her gut. All she wanted was to see her friends safe.

"We'll transmat in on top of that hill," the Exo decided, "Ghosts, standby."

He took the Javelin in for one last pass before they were transmatted out. Liv took in their surroundings. The hill was at least high enough to get a good view of the area. She looked through the scope of her sniper rifle, scanning for Cabal. An enormous tunnel entrance was carved into the cliffside at ground level. She saw a couple of Psions and a handful of Legionnaires next to it.

"Rhys, could you scan the area for Rae or Kai's Ghosts?" She said it aloud for the benefit of the others.

"_On it,"_ her Ghost replied. After a short period of silence, he spoke up again. "_I'm not detecting either of them in the vicinity."_

Liv frowned. "Why would they have left?"

"They're not here?" asked Kaedro.

Liv shook her head.

"Is it possible that they went to scout the Firebase?" suggested Tristan.

"And risk the Red Legion seeing them?" Jade asked.

"It's what I'd do, honestly," said Liv.

"We might as well check it out," Kaedro decided, "Even if they're not there, we might be able to gather some valuable intel."

Their course set, they made their way down the hill to the road, careful not to be seen by the Cabal.

"Sparrows?" asked Liv.

Kaedro shrugged. "Why not?"

They summoned their Sparrows and shot off in the direction of the Red Legion's base.

"_According to the information gathered by Hawthorne's scouts, the base is called Firebase Hades,"_ said Rhys through their bond, "_One of Ghaul's Blood Guards is rumored to be in residence there currently: Thumos the Unbroken."_

"That's the guy Kai and Rae were after… I wonder if they made a move on him yet."

"_For their sake, I really hope they didn't."_

As they rounded a corner, they slowed their Sparrows. They were now in sight of the base.

"Scan again."

Rhys sighed at her but did as she asked. "_Got one!" _he said excitedly.

Liv opened the voice channel so the rest of the team could hear.

"_I'm picking up live signals from Shard and Felix. They're coming from the hillside."_

"Let's keep moving down the road," said Liv, "Slowly. We don't want the Cabal knowing we're here."

The others nodded. They started off, keeping their Sparrows on low power. Liv kept her gaze focused on the Firebase. There seemed to be an undue amount of activity. Things were still fairly quiet close to the road, but she could make out Cabal hurrying between various doorways closer to the base itself.

"_They seem to be in some kind of cave," _said Rhys, "_You can stop riding now."_

Liv stopped her Sparrow, dismounting to allow Rhys to store it. Sniper rifle in hand, she approached a dark opening in the cliffside. It was on the smaller side. Too small, she estimated, for the hulking soldiers of the Red Legion. She stuck her head in.

"Rae?"

A pair of glowing eyes appeared. "The hell? Liv?"

"You know it! Some of the others are here with me."

She backed up as Rae approached the entrance, blinking as her eyes adjusted to the sunlight.

"Rae!" exclaimed Kaedro.

The Awoken Warlock accepted hugs from each of them.

"Where's Kai?" asked Liv.

Rae's mouth thinned. "She left."

Liv's eyebrows furrowed. "What do you mean? Rhys said he picked up Shard and Felix with his scan."

Rae thrust her hand out, palm facing upward. Two Ghosts appeared in front of her - one in a black shell and one in a white one. Liv's stomach turned. Why would Rae have both Ghosts with her? Shard and Felix vanished.

"We snuck into the base and stole the keycodes for Thumos' ship." The Warlock sounded angry. "We agreed we'd steal the ship today. We _agreed_." Liv and Tristan exchanged a look. "She left last night when I was asleep. Made her Ghost stay behind. That..._stupid_ Titan." She looked at them. "You two don't seem very surprised."

Liv winced. "Aside from it being the same thing that _I _would do, Kai's a Sunbreaker. She didn't stay in the City until after Twilight Gap. So it never surprises me if she goes off to do her own thing."

"Of all the idiotic stunts- Does she actually think she can infiltrate the Almighty, blow it up, and survive?!"

Liv sighed. "If there's one thing she _does _know, it's her chances of survival."

"We can't let her do it," said Rae.

"What are we gonna do?" asked Kaedro, "Sneak into the base with the Cabal on high alert and hope there's another ship we can steal?"

"Kaedro's right," said Tristan, "We'd only be costing the resistance more Guardians in the end."

"I can't believe you," said Rae furiously. "You're telling me you're fine with letting Kai go on a suicide mission? What kind of fireteam leader are you?"

"The kind who respects her teammates' sacrifices!" Liv retorted, "I get that you're pissed, but going after her would be disrespecting the choice she made. We're planning an attack on the City and _that's _what we need to focus on right now. We need to go in there and take back our home or Kai's sacrifice won't mean jack!"

Rae muttered something under her breath before stalking off. The others followed behind her.

"I've never seen Rae like that," said Jade, "Is she ok?"

"She doesn't usually act like that," said Kaedro quietly, "She'll come around, though. She knows how important it is that this attack succeeds."

"Hopefully she'll cool off on the flight back," said Liv.

"Yes," Tristan agreed, "Enough could go wrong without the added risk of emotionally compromised Guardians."

Liv nodded but she knew that, if she allowed herself, she could easily be in a worse state than Rae was. Her friendship with Kai was the only thing stopping her. She knew the Titan would want her to put the City before all else. She couldn't afford to grieve or let anger blind her. Not when everything she held dear was balanced on the edge of a knife. Bearing that in mind, she balled up her feelings and shoved them down, locking them away deep inside her. They would take back the City if she had to fight the entire Red Legion by herself.

The flight back to the Farm was quiet and she hated it. She'd rather the other Chasers talk to stop her from dwelling on Kai's trip to the Almighty. None of them did. Fortunately for her, it didn't take long to get back. Upon transmatting out of the Javelin, she noticed that things were pretty quiet at the Farm as well. There didn't seem to be very many people around and those she saw were keeping to themselves. She noticed the barn was closed and snagged a passing Guardian to ask why.

"The Vanguard are in there," he replied.

"What are they talking about?"

He shrugged. "Not sure. Whatever it is, they must want it kept on the DL." He pointed. "Not even Hawthorne's in there."

Liv followed his gesture. Sure enough, Hawthorne was standing outside the barn, talking to a few scouts.

"Huh. Thanks."

With that, she turned to go find the rest of their friends. It wasn't long before she caught sight of Fyr and Jia sitting next to the fire pit. She hurried over, about to call out a greeting when the words died in her throat. Sitting across from the pair was a familiar figure wrapped in a ragged green cloak staring into the flames.

"ACE!" she exclaimed.

Harley looked up and Liv winced internally. His face was paler than usual and he carried a weariness that she'd never seen before. Pushing past it, she ran at him and all but tackled him in a hug. Harley just managed to stop himself from toppling off of the bench.

"Hey, Liv."

Even his voice sounded tired. Liv frowned, studying him. The other Hunter had lost weight. Weight that he couldn't really afford to lose.

"Where's Prism?"

"Phased."

She frowned even more. Prism wasn't one to stay in phase when she didn't have to. She wanted to press the subject, but just then, the rest of the group caught up.

"Hey, it's Ace!" said Kaedro.

Liv got out of the way as the others greeted Harley. When Jade hugged him, she smirked at the Warlock behind Harley's back. Jade shot her a glare. Gradually, they settled into the benches around the fire.

"So where were you?" asked Liv.

Harley shrugged. "Around."

"Around in the EDZ?" asked Jade.

He shook his head. "Closer to the City."

"So where were you when the Red Legion hit?" asked Kaedro.

"I was in the Tower."

"You were?! How'd you get out?"

"Zavala sent me up to Ghaul's ship. I was supposed to take down the shields."

"You were on Ghaul's ship?" said Rae incredulously.

He nodded. "I took them down and got to the deck. But Ghaul was right behind me. I saw the cage around the Traveler activate and then he smacked me around a bit."

Liv narrowed her eyes, certain that Harley wasn't telling the whole story.

"I managed to escape the City by way of Twilight Gap. I hiked for a while before setting up camp in the woods."

"Did you receive a vision from the Traveler?" asked Tristan.

Harley looked confused. "Yeah… How'd you know about that?"

"Everyone saw it," said Jade, "It wanted us to go to the Shard but a lot of Guardians couldn't make the trip."

"Nothing happened for the ones who did, either," said Rae.

Harley looked troubled. "Well, I was in the woods until I got a transmission from Cayde."

"Cayde!" the group exclaimed.

"What happened to him?" asked Kaedro, "Where was he?"

"He was on a centaur called Nessus. The signal was being boosted by a Golden Age AI called Failsafe. I went to Nessus and got Cayde out of a loop the Vex trapped him in. We went to the Cosmodrome but Cayde wanted to come here after he picked up a broadcast."

"When we were on Titan with Zavala, we intercepted intel from the Red Legion about a weapon called the Almighty."

"'The Almighty?'"

Jade nodded. "The Cabal use it to send make stars supernova. It's how they destroy and conquer systems."

"And I'm guessing it's pointed at our Sun right now?" The Guardians nodded solemnly.

"Kai stole a Cabal ship and flew out last night," said Rae, "She's hoping she can take it down."

"...Traveler's Light," said Harley, "Alone?"

Rae scowled, jabbing at the fire with a stick. "Apparently."

What little color left in Harley's face drained at this. He clearly understood the implications of such a mission. Liv was actually a bit worried because he did not look well at all. She was about to ask him if he needed water or something, but before she could, another Guardian jogged over.

"The Vanguard want to speak to everyone."

"We'll be right there," said Tristan.

The Guardian nodded and hurried off. The Chasers got to their feet.

"Coming?" Liv asked Harley.

He nodded. "Yeah…"

They headed over to where the majority of other Guardians had gathered in front of the barn. Liv groaned. There was no way she'd be able to see past everyone. She pushed into the crowd, stepping on toes when necessary, until she got to the front. The Vanguard and Hawthorne stood facing them.

"Guardians," Zavala began, "As you know, our home was lost to the Red Legion. Under the command of their leader, Dominus Ghaul, they attacked the City and cut us off from the Traveler. We cannot let that stand any longer... Ikora, Cayde, Hawthorne, and I have devised a plan to take our City back from the Red Legion. It will require all of us to work together, civilians and Guardians alike. While not all of us were chosen to be reborn in Light, we all call the Last Safe City our home. The Traveler chose to protect us. Now we must return the favor."

A cheer went up from the crowd. Zavala waited for it to die down.

"Report to myself or Bazzle Torelli for your assignments. Tomorrow, we take back our home."

There was another cheer before the crowd began to disperse. As Guardians swarmed around Zavala, Liv broke away to find Bazzle. It turned out that most of the other Chasers had done so as well.

"Marko," the Titan acknowledged.

"Hey, Baz. Whatcha got for me?"

"Few of us are working together. Instead, most of you will lead your own teams. That way, we can coordinate larger group movements more easily." He looked at Jia. "Your job in the City dealt with constructing fireworks, correct?" She nodded. A small smile crossed the Titan's face. "You and Allerton are to lead a group of Warlocks. We need a distraction. That's where you come in." He tapped a few times on the datapad he was holding. "I've sent the details to Allerton. Good luck."

Liv zoned out as he listed off the assignments for the other Chasers, but managed to snap out of it when her name was called.

"Marko, you will be in charge of a team of snipers."

Liv heard a small ping telling her that her interface had gotten an alert. "Got it," she said, glancing around, "Did you give Ace his assignment?"

"I did not."

"Huh, he must've gone to Zavala then."

"Possibly… You all have the rest of tonight to relax, except Allerton and Jia. Report to your teams at 0600 tomorrow morning to begin preparations."

"Sounds good, Baz," said Kaedro, "We'll let you get back to it."

He patted the Titan on the shoulder before moving away. Liv followed, feeling overly energized. She knew they wouldn't be attacking the City until the following night when they had the cover of darkness to aid them but part of her wanted to go now. She didn't want to spend another day with the Red Legion inside their City. But since she wasn't able to do that, she resolved to do her very best to find alcohol. If this ended up being one of her last nights on Earth, she didn't want to spend it sober.


	12. Destroyer

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Harley has an idea that may save the Vanguard but sabotage their plan to eliminate Ghaul. Meanwhile, Kai -- Lightless and Ghostless -- traverses the Almighty.

Harley would have appreciated more time to come to terms with what Kai was doing before he was thrown into the Vanguard briefing. As it was, he only managed to process every other word that came out of Zavala's mouth. When the Titan had finished speaking, Harley headed off to find Cayde. The Hunter Vanguard had managed to slip away as the Guardians crowded around Zavala. Harley found him inside the barn.

"Hey."

Cayde looked up. "Hiya, Ace."

"What's the plan for tomorrow?"

"Well, Zav's got his whole thing with the teams but basically we're tryin' to get close enough to Ghaul's ship to use that Vex teleporter." He nodded toward a corner where the teleporter sat. "Then we'll take him out."

Harley frowned. "Isn't that a suicide mission?"

"Pretty much. S'why only the three of us are goin'. We're gonna do our best to make sure that space turtle goes down."

Harley's stomach turned unpleasantly. "How many of the others know?"

"Only Hawthorne and she's not tellin'... Don't you go spreadin' this around either, Ace. The less people that know about it, the better." Harley nodded. "Now go party or somethin'," said Cayde, shooing him away.

"Party?"

"Yeah. We're gonna be attacking the Cabal without Light tomorrow. Best party while you still have the chance."

Harley couldn't argue with that logic. Waving goodbye to the Hunter, he left the barn. He knew he ought to go spend time with his friends, but he had some thinking to do. He walked out to the rocks by the landing zone and sat on the edge of a cliff overlooking the lake. Cayde was about to go on a one-way mission to Ghaul's ship and Harley couldn't help but feel it was his fault. Maybe if he'd followed his vision from the Traveler in the first place, none of this would have happened. He sighed.

"Prism?"

There was no response from his Ghost.

"Look, I know you're mad at me, but you're the only one I can talk to and I... I really need someone to talk to right now…"

He waited. For a long moment, nothing happened. Harley was losing hope that his Ghost would actually answer when she appeared in front of him. He looked up.

"What is it?" she asked. Her tone was completely neutral.

He took a breath. "I know you're upset with me for not following the Traveler's vision."

"How perceptive of you," she said sardonically.

"I'm worried that the Vanguard - that Cayde - is making a sacrifice that I could have prevented."

"I think it's a little late to change any of that," said Prism.

"I know. And I think I know how I can fix it. But in order for it to work, you and I will have to be a team… I'm not asking you to forgive me. Just work with me until we take the City back."

"And if the assault fails?"

"Then we're all dead anyway."

There was a pause as Prism considered it. She sighed.

"I can do that… But this conversation isn't over, Harley. We're going to talk about this after we have the City back."

He nodded. "I understand."

"Good. Now, what was your idea?"

"Well, obviously I can't let the Vanguard get onto the Immortal," he said, "So I'll sneak into the barn tonight and take the teleporter. We'll go to the City, get underneath the ship, and I'll teleport up."

Prism stared at him for a long moment. "That is a horrible plan," she said finally.

"Well, I'm certainly not letting the Vanguard die. Then we'd have no leaders. Besides, we've been on the ship before. I can't beat Ghaul one-on-one, let alone all the Red Legion that'll be on that ship. But maybe I could sabotage it or take him out before he knows what's happening."

"I suppose you're set on this idea?"

"Yes, I am."

She sighed. "I hate to say this, but there's a chance it could work."

"Does that mean you're on board?"

"I guess it does."

He got to his feet. "Great."

A quick scan of the area told him that most of the Guardians were preoccupied with either partying or receiving their assignments. A dance circle had even begun to form in the middle. Realizing that this was probably his best chance of getting to the teleporter, he headed around to the back of the barn.

"Could you hide us from the others?" he asked.

"_Scrambling ID now."_

"Thanks."

He began to climb up the back wall of the barn. The task would have been much easier if he had the Light, but he made do. Upon reaching the roof, he lowered himself in through a hole, dropping lightly to the floor. The impact was a bit more jarring than he was used to, but it hadn't alerted anyone to his presence. He made his way over to the teleporter. Without having to be asked, Prism appeared in front of him and scanned over it, storing it away. Not wanting to have to climb back out, Harley looked around to make sure no one - namely Cayde - was inside. Then he slipped out of the front entrance, instantly blending into the crowd of Guardians outside. Making his way to an area clear of people, he summoned the Star. As soon as Prism transmatted him on board, they set off for the City.

They had just passed over the mountains surrounding the City when Harley heard a soft beeping emanating from the dash. Upon closer inspection, the source was revealed to be the fuel monitor. He groaned.

"Please tell me we have enough to make it the rest of the way."

"_Unfortunately not… You should land now before the Star lands for you."_

Harley sighed. "Yeah…" He landed the ship in a clearing. "How far away are we?"

"_Just a few miles away from the City… You'd better start walking."_

Harley got out of the ship and scouted around until he'd gathered enough branches to conceal it. The Cabal had already taken everything else. They weren't getting the Star. He began to walk in the direction of the City.

"This'll give the Cabal more chances to notice me than I was expecting..."

"_At least you won't be a target for the anti-aircraft guns. Whereas the Star would have been."_

"True."

"_Anyway, it won't take that long. Maybe an hour at the most."_

Sure enough, a little over an hour later they were within sight of the Wall. Harley's HUD flickered slightly as his helmet's night vision compensated for the lights on top. He squinted at the base of the Wall and spotted the hole he'd used to escape the City.

"_Looks like the Cabal haven't found it yet."_

"_Yes, and we want to keep it that way. If you alert them, they'll increase security and the others won't be able to get into the City. All chances at defeating them down the drain." _

_"I get your point…"_ He took a deep breath. "_Let's do this."_

He broke out of the treeline, heading toward the hole. Avoiding the lit-up areas, he was soon pressed against the Wall. He listened for any indication that he'd been spotted. Nothing happened, so he continued along the base of the Wall until he was able to slip into the small breach. After navigating through the rubble, he came up in the City outskirts.

"_Great, made it past the Wall. Now we just need to get all the way to Core District without the Red Legion knowing we're here…" _

_"This is what you signed up for."_

He sighed and started walking.

* * *

Kai made sure to listen for Cabal activity before she left the supply closet. She estimated that she was about halfway to the core of the Almighty's weapon when she'd stopped. Finding that the hallway was clear, she broke into a jog, following the route she'd been using the day before. Not for the last time, she wished her Ghost was there. Felix would have been able to direct her and let her know where the enemies were.

She rounded the corner and stopped dead. Sunlight was pouring into the room through a heavy-duty window. She approached, looking out. In all her years as a Guardian, she'd never been so close to the Sun. Even on Mercury, the outpost of the Sunbreakers, it had been much further away. Kai allowed herself one more moment of admiration before turning away. Clearly, she'd run into a dead end.

She began to retrace her steps when she heard Cabal coming down the corridor. She stopped moving and glanced around the room for a way out. She noticed a small door to her right and ran over, slamming her hand against the opening mechanism. It slid open to reveal another door. She groaned in frustration but ran inside. As the first door sealed behind her, she got a very bad feeling. The view of the Sun, the two doors… She was standing in an airlock. Knowing there was only one way out of there, she opened the second door.

Instantly, she was met with a harsh light. As her helmet adjusted to dim it, she stepped out into the blazing sunlight. The air shimmered with heat as fire rained down. Kai could feel the heat even with her armor and undersuit protecting her. She ran down to shelter behind a few structures, scoping out the path ahead. She could see doors and walkways, which indicated that Cabal actually came out onto the deck. Why they would risk it when they didn't have the Light to bring them back, she had no idea. She was also painfully aware that she didn't have the Light, but she couldn't stop now.

She dashed out across the walkways, hauling herself up onto the platform across the way. Her armor's shielding was working overtime to stop her from being burnt to cinders. She stopped again to give it a reprieve before running the rest of the way to a door that resembled the one she'd used to get out.

She entered the airlock, blinking at the sudden change in lighting before cautiously entering the next room. No Cabal in sight. Breathing a sigh of relief, she crossed the room and climbed up to another corridor. _And Liv thinks Titans can't be good at stealth._ A pang went through her at the thought of her fireteam, but she suppressed it. The mission came before all else.

She continued along the path until it let out into an enormous room with lots of moving machinery. _Thank the Light for simplistic Cabal design._ Taking stock of the room, she saw a large tube at the other end. With any luck, it was one of the same fuel tubes that led straight to the core. She approached it and stumbled slightly as the suction tugged at her. She stuck a hand inside, waiting to see if it would burn her. Nothing happened. There's some good news.

_Well, here goes…_ She stepped into the tube and was instantly pulled off her feet. She screamed once before noticing that she wasn't dead. Instead, she caught sight of the Sun through the clear walls of the tube.

"Whoa…"

The visage was both incredible and terrifying at the same time. Just as she was settling into the ride, the floor dropped out from under her. She fell down into a large space, barely having time to brace for the landing. She hissed in pain as she felt one of her ankles give way.

"Son of a..._Dredgen_."

She'd broken her ankles many times before, but Felix had always been there to heal her. Clenching her teeth, she began to hobble. The ankle would have to wait. She had nothing with her to make a splint. After limping through a couple more rooms, she stumbled into a Cabal Interceptor bay. Maybe things were looking up. With some difficulty, she climbed into one of the vehicles and set off. After passing through a large hallway, she emerged into what had to be the core room.

"Sunbreaker's Hammers this place is huge," she muttered, "Wonder what the Cabal are compensating for?"

Smiling a little at the thought, she steered her Interceptor into the space. _Alright, think, Kai. Giant laser like this has to have some kind of ventilation or coolant system._ As the weapon cycled up, she could feel the entire deck shaking. A couple of panels on a nearby structure slid open, revealing a giant fan. Gotcha. She drove over to it, firing into the machine until it began to smoke.

An alarm began to blare, adding onto the noise of the star-ending weapon. Across the way, she saw a set of panels on another fan slide closed as the weapon cycled down. She crossed the room and waited for them to open once more. When they did, she took out the second fan. As she mentally congratulated herself, a white-hot pain pierced through her shoulder. She cursed, looking for the source. Alerted by the alarm, Legionaries and Psions had entered the core. The beams of sniper rifles locked onto her and she fired up the boost, sending the Interceptor roaring away. The last and most important fan was in the middle. That was the nice thing about the Cabal: the predictability in their designs. She fired into it as more Cabal came pouring out through nearby doors.

When the fan was crippled, she threw herself out of the Interceptor's seat, wincing as the movement jolted her ankle. As the Cabal closed in, she escaped into the fan room and saw a fusion cell like the one she'd used the day before to power up the grinder. She grabbed it and pulled herself up into the hallway above, muttering expletives as the floor did its best to burn through her boots.

Forcing herself into a run, she hurried through the hallway to a large port she could see at the end. With a yell, she jammed the fusion cell into it. The ensuing blast flung her backward, knocking the air out of her. The area surrounding the core glowed red as the machinery shuddered, about to blow. Kai attempted to get up, but couldn't.

_Not that it matters_, she thought, _It's the end of the line anyway._ She'd known before she left that she wouldn't be making it off of the Almighty. With that thought in mind, she turned her head to face the Sun as the machinery around her began to rupture. _Your move, Ghaul. There's only one Sunbreaker here… and it's me._


	13. Desperation

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The time has come to retake the City. While the Guardian teams begin the assault below, Harley prepares to eliminate Ghaul by any means necessary.

"What do you mean the teleporter's gone?" Zavala demanded.

Cayde spread his arms. "I dunno, Zav. You see a Vex teleporter 'round here?"

Bazzle rubbed his forehead tiredly. They were hours away from mounting their assault on the City and the lynchpin of their entire plan was missing.

"Who could have taken it?" asked Ikora, "And why?"

"Search me," said Cayde.

Zavala narrowed his eyes at the Hunter Vanguard. "Was it not your original plan to use the teleporter to face Ghaul alone?"

"Yeah, _original_ plan. Meanin' it's changed since then. How stupid do ya think I am?"

"I doubt you want to hear the answer to that," said Ikora dryly.

Zavala sighed. "The point remains, without that teleporter, there is no getting onto Ghaul's ship."

"Does this mean we're calling off the attack?" asked Bazzle.

He felt that someone had to put this into the perspective of the Guardians who'd been preparing for most of the day.

"To continue would be a surefire way to lose the rest of the Guardians we have," said the Commander.

"What about the transmissions that were intercepted earlier today? They indicate that the Almighty has been...effectively disabled. To not attack now would be to waste the life Grayham gave to take it down. I refuse to stand by and let the sacrifice of a fellow Titan and Chaser amount to nothing."

Zavala sighed again. "Grayham's actions deserve the highest of honors but I'm afraid-"

"Hang on," said Cayde.

Zavala shot him an irritated look. "What do you-"

"Shut up a minute Zav, I'm thinkin'." He looked at Bazzle. "We have any problems with the teams?"

Bazzle frowned. "I was in the process of checking when the Commander called me in." He checked the datapad. "...It does appear that one of the team leaders is missing. Hayden, by the look of it."

Cayde snapped his fingers, pointing at Zavala. "I betcha anything he's the one who took it."

Bazzle sighed. As much as he wanted to argue against the possibility, it made a lot of sense.

"That doesn't make sense," said Zavala, "What reason would Hayden have to take the teleporter? It seems most unlike him."

"Actually, Commander, it seems exactly like him," said Bazzle. The eyes of all three Vanguard settled upon him. "Hayden is not much of a 'team player.' Or perhaps he is too much of one… On multiple occasions, he has shown a preference for taking inane risks rather than put others in the line of fire."

"I see," said Zavala. He sighed. "If Hayden is intending to use the teleporter to get onto Ghaul's ship, then we must be there. If he manages to defeat Ghaul, it's up to us to take the City back from the remaining Red Legion. Of course, that is the best-case scenario…"

He didn't have to say what the worst-case scenario would be.

"Ok people. Let's get mobilized."

It took them a couple of hours to get everything together. The number of fueled ships had to be calculated, ammo and armor had to be shared, and the team leaders had to talk. He made sure to track down his own squad as well. As they flew toward the City, Bazzle eyed the sky outside. The sun withered on the horizon, sending colorful mats of luminescence across the heavens. They would have to wait for a while. The Vanguard wanted to attack in the hours directly preceding dawn when the night was at its darkest.

By the time they landed, the sun was no longer visible. They had set down as close to the City as they dared, but a lot of maneuvering would be required to get to where they were needed. Bazzle looked at his team. There were two Hunters, two Titans, and a Warlock.

"Get some rest. The attack won't begin until 0400."

The Guardians nodded and moved off to find places to sleep. Bazzle returned to his ship to make use of the small bed he had in the back.

It seemed he had just laid down when Sway was waking him up.

"It's starting soon," she said, "The Vanguard need all teams to get into position."

Bazzle got up and strapped his armor on before exiting the ship. Outside, Guardians were hurrying around, retrieving weapons and locating their teams. He saw that several teams had already departed.

"Torelli," said Zavala.

Bazzle turned. "Yes, sir?"

"We'll be moving on the City soon. There's no way to be sure of Hayden's status. Things may go awry… In the event that I am unable to do so, I need you to order a general retreat."

"...Are you sure about this, Commander?"

Zavala nodded. "I refuse to lose any more Guardians if this attack fails… And I trust your judgment. If I am incapacitated and there is no hope of victory, give the order."

Bazzle nodded. "Yes, sir."

"Good. Now mobilize your team, Torelli. It's time to take back our home."

The journey to the City took some time. Most, if not all of the Guardians had their Ghosts out to provide light. But when they reached the end of the tree cover, the Ghosts phased to avoid alerting any Cabal sentries.

"_Hold position until teams Alpha, Beta, and Gamma give the all-clear,"_ said Zavala over the comms.

Keeping his auto rifle at the ready, Bazzle knelt, waiting. Each team consisted of six Guardians. The first three teams had been tasked with entering the City first. They were going to spread out and create as much chaos as they could to throw off the Red Legion. Team Delta and Team Epsilon - Bazzle's team - would climb to the top of the Wall from the inside. With any luck, they'd be able to recapture the AA guns from the Cabal and use them against the Red Legion ships. Finally, the Vanguard and Hawthorne would lead teams Zeta and Eta into the City's center. The rest of the teams would follow a ways behind them. The Vanguard didn't want the Red Legion noticing Zeta and Eta until they had reached and captured the rendezvous point.

"_Alpha, Beta, and Gamma are prepared to strike. Teams Delta and Epsilon, get into position."_

Bazzle looked over his shoulder at his team. "Stay on me and move quietly," he said.

The others nodded. With that, Bazzle began to move across the open space to the City walls. Upon passing through the breach, he moved along the base until he found a sealed door. Sway unlocked it, and the team filed inside.

"We stay on the stairway until the rest of the teams have made it into the City," said Bazzle.

"Why not just attack now?" asked a tall Exo Titan named Reno-13, "We should just go for it. Red Legion won't see it coming."

"We need to make sure the teams behind us can get into the City before the Cabal are on alert," Bazzle explained.

"That makes sense," said a shorter Titan named Jayla Rin, "Even if I'd still rather be kicking some Cabal teeth in."

"_Eta and Theta en route,"_ said Zavala, "_Standby."_

"Do Cabal even have teeth?" asked Reno.

"It's a safe assumption that they do," the Warlock, Darren Vol, replied.

"Yeah but is there anyone who can verify that?" asked one of the Hunters.

His name was Sebastian Gale. The other Hunter was Seal-13 but Bazzle had yet to hear him actually talk.

"Why would anyone _want _to verify that?" asked Jayla.

Reno shrugged. "You're the one who wanted to kick some teeth. What would you do if they didn't have teeth to kick?"

"I'm sure I could think of other things to kick."

"Traveler _forbid_ you Titans run out of things to kick," teased Sebastian.

"Watch it or I might practice my kicking on _you_."

The Guardians chuckled. Bazzle opened a private channel to the Chasers.

"Allerton, how is your team doing?"

The Hunter gave a nervous laugh. "_Pretty good, Baz. We're just waiting on Big Blue to give the signal."_

"How is Jia?"

"_I'm ok, Bazzle,"_ said the Exo, "_Still can't believe what we're trying to do or the fact that they need me, but hey."_

"Just find a defendable position and lay low. We don't want to give the plan away to the Red Legion."

"_Gotcha, Baz,"_ said Fyr.

"_Guardians, move on the City," _commanded Zavala, sounding slightly out of breath, "_The Red Legion are using shields to divide us. Stay on alert. Hawthorne will be doing what she can to take them down."_

Bazzle straightened up. "Follow me."

He led his team up the stairs. It was a long climb to the top of the Wall and they paused before the doorway to catch their breath. Bazzle counted down quietly.

"Three...two...one."

He shoved open the door and stepped out, shooting two surprised Legionaries. The rest of Team Epsilon followed him out, weapons at the ready. They moved as a group to the first anti-aircraft gun. Unsurprisingly, it was under guard. They took out the Psion snipers before ducking behind a short wall to avoid the bullet spray from a Colossus. Eventually, the bullets stopped. Bazzle peeked out only to see a barrage of small missiles heading for their hiding spot.

"Brace for impact!"

The missiles hit, detonating in white blinding explosions. The rest of his team groaned, swatting at their helmets.

"Let's take this punk down!" said Jayla.

They broke cover. Bazzle sprinted straight at the Colossus, landing a heavy blow on its helmet. As it stumbled, disoriented, his team shot it in the chest. Bazzle bent to pick up its enormous machine gun.

"I need two of you to stay here. One to operate the AA gun and one to guard against Cabal reinforcements."

"I can work the gun," Sebastian volunteered, "Can't wait to take out some Threshers."

"I will stay with him," said Darren.

Bazzle could tell his fireteam wasn't happy about it, but he knew they'd have to accept it. "Good. The rest of us will take the next two guns, then we hold position until reinforcements arrive."

He looked out over the City, from where he could hear distant explosions and the rattle of gunfire. In some places, he spotted the glowing orange of Cabal energy shields.

"Team Delta is hopefully capturing the other guns," he said, "Once some of the other teams clear the district below, they should be able to provide support. In the meantime, we'll use the AA guns to shoot down as many enemy ships as possible. Rin, Reno, and Seal, start heading for the next one." The trio nodded and ran off. "Vol and Gale, good luck. May the Light go with you."

"You too, sir," said Sebastian.

Bazzle nodded at them before heading after the rest of his team. There would be many more battles to fight before the night was over.

* * *

Harley wasn't feeling all that confident in his plan. Getting into the City and onto the ship had been one thing. Figuring out how he could take it down and come out alive was something else entirely. He hurried down a corridor.

"_Any chance you could tell me where Ghaul is?"_ he asked Prism.

"_I'm picking him up on the top of the ship,"_ she replied, "_It also appears that the weapons are being armed."_

"_The others must have started the attack…"_ He sighed. "_Direct me to the top of the ship. If I can get a shot off before he sees me, the plan might work without me having to blow something up."_

"_...Take the next right."_

Harley complied, running down another corridor. Just as he was about to round a corner, Prism warned him of Cabal approaching. He ran into one of the rooms and waited for the sound of their footsteps to pass. Then he noticed what was in the room with him. A contraption was hanging from a hole in the ceiling. The restraints on it were human-sized. A bad feeling in his stomach, Harley moved closer. Lying on the floor in front of the contraption were two bodies. One was a Cabal, the other appeared human, at least in stature. The pit in his stomach deepened when he caught sight of a familiar mask lying next to the figure. The mask was still recognizable, despite lying in pieces. Prism appeared next to him.

"Traveler's Light…" She swept a beam across the Speaker's body. "He's been dead for a while. I'd rather not speculate on why he was on board."

"...Ghaul's going to pay," said Harley, "Let's get moving."

He left the room and continued along the route Prism had given him. Fortunately, he didn't come across any more wandering Cabal. He came to an elevator.

"_Guessing this'll take me to Ghaul?"_

Prism didn't answer, which for him was answer enough. He stepped onto the pad and pressed a button. Immediately, the elevator began to rise. He checked over his sniper rifle, making sure it was ready. They were halfway up when Prism spoke, sounding worried.

"_Harley, I'm getting some strange readings."_

"_Strange how?"_

"_I don't know. I can't make sense of what my scans are telling me!"_

Just then, the elevator stopped at the top of the ship. Harley got off, looking around for Ghaul. He spotted the giant Cabal about halfway down the deck. But something was wrong. Ghaul flickered with orange light. It almost looked like he was burning.

"_I don't believe it!"_ said Prism, "_He's taken the Light!"_

Ghaul laughed. "So, you have come to face me again, Traveler-spawn. You are too late. I have claimed the Light! Your Traveler cannot help you now."

He raised a fiery sword and flung a burning blade at Harley, who barely managed to dodge out of the way. The blades kept coming and Harley dove onto the elevator pad, slamming his hand against the button.

The platform began to descend, too slowly for his taste. He ducked under another blade, pressing himself against the floor as it moved downward.

"What the hell was that?! It's like he's a Sunbreaker or something!"

"_He took the Light! Traveler above, he took the Light!"_

As the elevator reached the bottom, Harley looked up. Ghaul loomed over the opening.

"You won't escape me again!" the Dominus roared.

Harley heard Prism scream inside his head a second before Ghaul jumped. "_HARLEY RUN!"_

He scrambled out of the elevator, abandoning his sniper rifle, and sprinted down the hallway. There was an echoing thud as Ghaul landed and pursued him, his footsteps causing the floor to shake. Harley pushed himself to run even faster as terror threatened to consume him. He dashed around corners, refusing to look back for fear of what he'd see. He raced down another corridor, pushing past surprised Cabal and hurtled around a corner into a dead end.

He pounded against the sealed door fruitlessly before running into an adjacent room. The room was as large as the one he'd found the Speaker in and also had a window along most of the outside-facing wall. But the similarities ended there. It was obviously used for storage, judging by the number of crates stacked against the wall. He pried one open and found it was full of weapon parts.

Stifling a desperate groan, he climbed up the stack of crates next to it. His only chance would be to get past Ghaul when he entered and run back the way they'd come. Not seconds later, the door slid open as Ghaul walked in. He didn't look happy.

Harley tensed, ready to jump. But the Dominus didn't move any further. He wouldn't be able to get through the door. Upon realizing that, he spent approximately two seconds taking stock of his options before launching himself at the leader of the Red Legion.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Jayla Rin, Reno-13, and Darren Vol all belong to smolTITAN118 over on Fanfiction.net and have been used with her permission


	14. Devasation

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In the words of the Speaker, being a Guardian requires devotion, sacrifice, and death. But accepting the sacrifice of someone you care about is never accomplished without great difficulty.

Harley would have preferred to take any other course of action, had it been available to him. As it was, the only thing he could do was lock his arms around Ghaul's neck and hang on for dear life. The Dominus bellowed angrily and reached back to pry him off. Harley felt his hand close around his torso and held on even tighter. Ghaul tightened his grip and Harley hissed in pain as he felt his ribs threatening to break. He let go, giving Ghaul the opening he needed.

He threw Harley across the room, where he smacked into the wall and landed heavily on the floor. Harley groaned and pushed himself to his feet in time to see Ghaul bearing down on him. With a yelp, he sidestepped and rolled, coming up behind the Dominus. Pulling out his knife, he drove it into the back of Ghaul's knee, where his armor was weaker. Ghaul roared and turned, driving a fist into Harley's stomach that sent him flying. He coughed and started to get up, when Ghaul closed the distance, kicking him in the side. Harley gasped in pain, still trying to regain his breath.

Then the massive Cabal brought his foot down on Harley's leg. The Hunter cried out as a sickening snap reached his ears. Ghaul's eyes glowed with rage as his hand closed around Harley's throat, lifting him off the ground. Harley struggled to loosen the Dominus' grip, but it was to no avail.

"Go ahead, Traveler-spawn. Call for your dead god."

The Hunter's movements grew weaker with each passing second. This was it. He was about to die his final death. Dimly, he saw Ghaul tilt his head, as though he was listening to something. Then he snarled and released his grip, letting Harley drop to the floor before leaving the room. Harley gasped, his chest heaving as his oxygen supply was replenished.

He coughed and attempted to speak, but his voice came out too raspy to understand, so he gave up.

"_Why did he leave?"_ he asked Prism through their bond.

She sounded worried when she replied. "_I'm not sure. I'm attempting to hack into the Red Legion's comm frequency right now." _

_"He could've killed me. Why did he stop?" _

_"...He knows there's nowhere you can go."_ She appeared above him, inspecting his leg. "I might be able to heal the damage."

Harley frowned. "_No, wait." _

"Harley, you're in pain! Your leg is broken!"

"_I know, but I just got an idea and I'll need you at full strength to heal me if it works." _

Prism didn't look very happy about it. "Whether I agree to that depends on what your idea is."

"_I'm going to crash the ship."_

There was a long moment of silence as she considered it.

"...That isn't the _worst _plan I've heard you come up with, but how do you think you're going to get to the bridge? Are you planning to drag yourself there?"

"_I still have one working leg. And I'm sure I can find something in here to use as a crutch."_

His Ghost vanished as he got to his feet. He hopped over to the crate he'd opened and rummaged around until he found a piece long enough.

"_Could you bring up a route to the bridge on my HUD?"_

After a few seconds, one was loaded up and Harley started moving.

"_Thanks. Now I just have to worry about running into Red Legion." _

_"You might not,"_ said Prism gravely, "_I just cracked their transmissions. Apparently, one of the Guardians down there has the Light and is tearing through the Cabal forces." _

_"What?!" _

_"Ghaul has ordered all of the troops on this ship to fire on the Guardian. They'll all be at their stations." _

_"What about Ghaul?" _

_"From what I can gather, he's back on the deck, raining Light on the Guardian."_

Harley increased his pace, propelling himself along with his makeshift crutch. "_How could someone have gotten their Light back without us hearing about it?" _

_"I have no idea, but thank the Traveler they did."_

True to what Prism had said, Harley encountered no Red Legion, apart from a couple of Psions on the bridge. Harley shot them and hurried over to the main console. Cabal ships were pretty different from Guardian ships, especially a big one like the Immortal. With Prism's help, he figured out the basic controls.

"_Here goes nothing…"_

He grabbed hold of the steering mechanism, bringing it into a sharp turn away from the Traveler. The room tilted as the ship slowly swung around. Harley angled it to crash outside of the City and hit the throttle. The ship lurched forward, moving away from the City's center. He heard alarms begin to blare as the Red Legion discovered his unauthorized access.

"_Prism, which one of these controls the doors?"_

He pressed the button she directed him to, sealing the doors to the bridge.

"_Now they can't get through...right?" _

_"Most of them won't be able to, but Ghaul likely has an override." _

_"Crap. Let's just hope it takes him a while to get down here."_

He watched the landscape below as the ship sailed toward the outskirts of the City.

"_You'd better hope I'll be able to heal whatever injuries you get from crashing this thing,"_ said Prism.

"_I'm sure you'll be able to,"_ thought Harley.

"_Oh no… Not to alarm you, but Ghaul's on his way to the bridge." _

_"Fantastic. Can't this thing move any faster?"_ He smacked the console.

"_Harley, you only have a few minutes before he gets here. I don't think the ship will make it out of the City. You need to bring it down now!"_

Harley cursed and steered the ship into a steeper angle. They were heading right for the edge of the City. As they lost altitude, the consoles began to beep warnings at him. 1000 meters. 900 meters.

Harley heard one of the doors behind him open. 600 meters.

"YOU!" roared Ghaul, "You think you can bring down the Immortal?"

400 meters. Harley heard three shots ring out behind him and staggered as the bullets buried themselves in his back. His hands remained clenched around the controls even as he felt his legs give out.

200 meters. He wasn't going to let Ghaul win.

100 meters. He closed his eyes, blocking out the flashing screens and the sight of the Earth as it loomed up to greet him. The last sound he heard was a deafening crash as the ship plowed into the ground. Then he knew no more.

* * *

Bazzle was at the top of a stairway, shooting down Red Legion as they attempted to retake the Wall. Their bodies piled up in the opening, some spilling down the stairs. They had been fighting hard for just over an hour now. The first three teams were doing their jobs well, sending the Cabal running around in different directions so Team Omega could accomplish their task.

Team Omega was Fyr and Jia's team. Unlike the other teams, their battle required more subtlety. They had worked for most of the night to build fireworks under Jia's instruction. It had taken a while to get them into position near the City's center, but not long after they did, the show began. The purpose of the fireworks was to convince the Red Legion that a Guardian with the Light - specifically Fyr - was wreaking havoc in Core District. The illusion was accomplished with cleverly constructed fireworks, sparklers, and grenades.

Bazzle hadn't been able to see the effects for himself, but he had been told they were working well. So well that Ghaul's ship, and Ghaul himself, had begun to fire at them. The downside was how dangerous that made things for Team Omega. At least, until the massive ship turned and began to fly away from the City, appearing to be making a beeline for the forest outside the Wall.

Bazzle dropped a premade grenade into the stairwell and turned to watch the ship's progress. Its angle of descent was even steeper than he'd thought. If it continued on its trajectory, it would crash just within the walls. He heard the voices of his teammates through the comms, calling out. The ship wasn't slowing down. Even as he watched, he saw it slam into the earth. Despite being on top of the Wall, he felt the vibrations from the crash. Guardians cheered at the sight of the wreck.

All of a sudden, the sound of rending metal broke out and Bazzle saw a white beam shoot toward the sky. He watched in dread as it unfolded into the massive form of Dominus Ghaul, made entirely of Light. The cheers of his friends turned to cries of dismay.

Ghaul bellowed in triumph. "Do you see me now, Traveler? I am Ghaul and I am immortal! This day will mark the beginning of my new Empire!"

It was over. There was no way they could win now. Bazzle watched as Ghaul began to stomp back toward Core District. But before he got very far, something happened to stop him in his tracks. The cage around the Traveler was cracking, allowing Light to shine through. Ghaul watched as the cracks spread and beams of Light passed across his face.

"You do see me…"

The Light grew brighter and brighter until Ghaul began to scream in agony. The Traveler seemed to tear through him with its Light, each beam burning a hole where it touched. And still, it grew brighter. Bazzle averted his eyes, but he still saw the detonation of Light blast outward from the Traveler. It ripped apart both the Cage and Ghaul, sweeping outward in a massive explosion.

When it hit him, Bazzle felt as though he'd been dealt a physical blow. He staggered back, feeling for a moment like he was burning. But the sensation passed and renewed vigor flowed through him, energizing him. Deep inside, he felt something connect, as though a missing puzzle piece had fallen into place. His Light was back. He heard the whooping of Guardians fill the open comm channels.

"_We did it!"_ cheered Sebastian.

"_We kicked their butts!"_ yelled Jayla.

Sway appeared in front of him, her shell spinning happily. "It's over!"

He smiled. "Yes, it is."

"_Baz, you there?"_ asked Rae over the Chaser line.

She too sounded happy about having the Light back, but there was also a note of worry in her voice.

"What is it, Korrin?" he asked.

"_Ace was on that ship, right?"_

Apprehension settled in Bazzle's chest. "Yes," he said solemnly.

"_Ace?"_ asked Kaedro, "_Uh oh. We'd better get down there."_

"I will meet you both at the crash site," said Bazzle, closing the channel. "Sway, would you mind calling the ship?"

"_Already on its way."_

Sure enough, the ship sailed in a few minutes later. Bazzle transmatted in and set off for the Immortal. Rae and Kaedro were waiting for him when he transmatted down.

"How does it look?" he asked.

Kaedro winced. "Not good. Ace would've been on the bridge, which pretty much took the full force of the impact. Jyn's getting a live reading from his Ghost, but neither of them have come out."

"What is the fastest way in?" asked Bazzle.

"That's the good news. Ghaul made a direct line to the bridge when he became Giant Light Ghaul. We should be able to get in through there."

"Lead the way."

Bazzle and Rae followed Kaedro as he scaled the wreckage. It took a bit of work to get to the opening, but they managed it. Then it was a simple matter of dropping down, a task made much easier with the return of the Light. Upon landing in the bridge, Bazzle looked around. Apart from the hole ripped through the ceiling and the smashed and burning consoles, it wasn't looking too bad. Bazzle saw Harley's body sprawled on the floor behind the main console. Prism hovered above him, scanning him over and over.

"Prism!" said Kaedro.

The Ghost turned and nearly sobbed in relief. "Thank the Light!"

"What happened?" he asked.

"He died when the ship crashed," she said, "He told me to heal him but he was dead before I could do anything!"

"Prism, calm down," said Rae, "The Light is back. You should be able to revive him now."

"I can't!" the Ghost wailed, "I've been trying ever since I felt the Light return but I can't reach him!"

"Maybe if you borrow some of my Light," Kaedro suggested.

Prism expanded her shell and the three Guardians waited, their eyes fixed on Harley. But the Hunter didn't stir.

"It's no use! He's gone forever and it's all my fault!"

"No it's not," said Rae firmly, "Here. We'll bring him to Core District. The Light's always stronger there. Maybe that's what he needs."

Bazzle was concerned the Warlock was slipping toward denial, but he backed her up anyway.

"It's true," he said, "Core District is the easiest place to reach the Light. We can take my ship."

"Thank you!" said Prism.

Bazzle bent over to pick up Harley's body, removing the Hunter's damaged helmet. Once his ship was hovering above them, they all transmatted on board. Bazzle lay Harley on his bed in the back before taking control.

They decided to transmat down onto one of the rooftops. After all, the closer to the Traveler, the better. Bazzle set Harley's body down on the roof and stepped back as Prism attempted the revival process again. When nothing happened, the Titan felt his heart sink.

"I don't understand what's wrong," said Kaedro, "His spark's still there, right?"

"I can feel it, but I can't reach it," said Prism miserably, "It's like there's something stopping me from connecting."

"It's not the spark," said Rae, "Everyone knows they last longer than that."

"It's usually a couple days, right?" said Kaedro.

Rae nodded. "Exactly. The record for the longest time between death and resurrection was a week. If a Ghost can get their Guardian back after a week, Prism can definitely get Ace back after a few minutes."

"You're right," said Prism.

Bazzle watched as she initiated resurrection again. As much as he wanted to believe that something would change, a feeling deep inside of him warned otherwise. He watched Prism try and fail seven more times before saying anything.

"Prism, I know you don't want to hear this. I know none of us want to believe it. But I think we need to consider the possibility that Hayden isn't coming back."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Huge thanks to jsmulligan for brainstorming the last part of the fight with me :3


	15. Devotion

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> An unexpected encounter kicks off recovery from the Red War. Losses have been suffered both personally and collectively, and there's a lot of healing to be done in the days to come.

Harley was in a garden.

He got to his feet and looked around, taking it in. Plants were growing everywhere - winding up silvery trees, spilling over the ground. The air was drenched in sunlight. Harley breathed in, smelling the heavy scent of earth after a long summer rain.

But as calming as his surroundings were, he got the distinct feeling of being unwelcome. _You do not belong here,_ whispered the breeze as it shuffled the leaves of the trees. _You are an outsider,_ accused the blood-red blossoms pouring from gaps in the bark like open wounds. Harley could see no living creatures, yet the garden hummed with life. The ground itself seemed to be trying to hold onto him.

It took more effort than it should have to start walking. He eyed the vegetation warily. The place reminded him uncomfortably of the Black Garden, yet he could tell it was entirely different. Ahead of him at the far end was a tree with twisting branches. Its leaves seemed to flutter like dozens of pairs of silvery wings affixed to the wood. The black bark peeled from the branches and trunk - hanging off of it in warped shavings. Much of it was scattered across the ground. He walked closer, but something caught his eye, making him turn aside.

A figure was kneeling off to the side among the plants, seemingly tending to them.

"Hello?"

"Shhhh," the figure hushed him, speaking with a woman's voice, "Listen… Do you hear it?"

Harley tilted his head, straining to hear whatever she was talking about, but failing to notice anything in particular.

"Hear what?"

She turned and smiled at him. "Life."

Her hair shone silver as it spilled out in waves from beneath her sunhat. It struck him that he couldn't tell if she was young or old. She could be neither or both. The color of her eyes was shifting constantly, fading from the warm brown of soil to the golden yellow of the sun. From the clear green of young leaves to the cool blue of the sky. While the rest of her seemed almost ageless, her eyes were ancient, brimming with impossible knowledge and forbidden secrets.

She rose, stepping closer to him.

"Who are you?" asked Harley.

"A gardener," she replied.

"What do you mean by that?"

Her laugh was the sound of water leaping over stones. "That is what I am. One who cultivates life."

"...Why am I here?"

"That is something you must answer for yourself. To answer for you would be to deprive you of truly knowing… Who are you, Harley Hayden?"

Harley frowned. He knew he had never mentioned his name. Yet somehow she knew who he was.

"You already know," he replied.

She laughed again. "You are more right than you could possibly know. But I wasn't talking about your name... I was talking about who you are in your core, your spark."

"I'm a Guardian."

"...You are."

He could tell it wasn't what she wanted to hear. Harley barely stopped himself from lashing out in frustration. Clearly, she was expecting an answer aside from the obvious. Who was he? He was a protector of the Last Safe City. A Hunter. But neither of those were what she was looking for. He thought back through his time as a Guardian, the last couple of years in particular. His mouth opened, almost of its own accord.

"I...I'm scared."

The woman nodded solemnly. "That is perhaps the closest you can come to the true answer, for now at least. It isn't a complete one, but that is forgivable. It is not in your nature to capture something undefinable, as it is mine." Her eyes fixed upon him. "So, Harley, tell me...why are you here?"

He stared at her in confusion. She smiled gently at him.

"You are close to the answer. You have even said it out loud."

Harley blinked in realization. "I'm here because I'm scared."

"...Why are you scared, Harley?"

"The Light was gone."

She nodded. "It was. And you were sent a vision. Do you remember it?"

Harley nodded. "It told me to go to the Shard of the Traveler."

"Yet you did not… I see you know why, though I can understand why you wish not to say it aloud." She studied him. "You were afraid the Traveler would not help you. You did not have faith, so you turned from the path. For this, I am sorry. You should not have had to endure so much suffering... Few who are blessed by my gift have an easy path to tread, but yours has been harder than most."

Harley regarded her in wonder. "Wait. _Your _gift? ...You mean _you're _the Traveler?"

She sighed. "I've always preferred the term gardener… But yes, I am the Traveler."

For a moment, Harley wondered whether he should bow or fall to his knees and beg for forgiveness. But from the short time he'd interacted with her, he had the sense that she would want neither of those things.

"I will ask you one more thing, Harley… Did you regret the choice you made?"

Harley felt his heart rate speed up. It had to be some sort of trick question. But keeping in mind who he was talking to, he tried to answer as honestly as possible.

"Yes and no... I could have helped more people if I'd chosen differently, but I think taking the path I did… I think I learned something."

The Traveler smiled slightly. "I'm inclined to agree with you."

"But..." he began.

"Yes?"

"The vision was sent to all of the Guardians, right? They said nothing happened when they went to the Shard. If that's true, then why would it have been any different if I'd gone?"

Her eyes flashed with amusement. "You aren't here to learn what could have been. That choice is behind you now, as it is behind your companions." She paused. "I admire the sacrifice you made to bring down Ghaul... You can rest in knowing that he is gone and the Light has been restored."

Harley felt a ball of tension that he hadn't been conscious of ease inside of him.

"Thank you," he said, "But...if the Light is back, why hasn't Prism revived me?"

The Traveler's expression grew more grave. "There is a shadow within you that your Ghost cannot see through. It has been there since Oryx presented you to the Darkness."

Harley felt fear twist inside of him. "But she's revived me before since then..."

He recalled the Fallen attack during New Year and later the instance after Kyler shot him.

"Tell me, Harley… were you healing during this period?"

"...Yes, actually."

She nodded. "As I thought... Before, the shadow was thin enough that you could be revived without a problem. But I'm afraid it has grown stronger since."

"...Does that mean I'll be dead for good now?"

She shook her head. "I intend to assist the revival process. When I send you back, the shadow will diminish. However, you must be forever vigilant because it will not be gone for good. Its strength may ebb and flow with the forces of the Darkness... Be cautious."

He nodded. "I understand."

"Good. Also, I believe you will discover new...gifts when you return. The gifts will extend to others as well. Practice often and do not give up hope. My children have protected me long enough... It's time I protected them again."

She gestured for him to step closer. He complied and she cupped his face in her hands. He felt the rough scratch of her gardening gloves against his cheeks.

"I will send you back now. Be brave, my spark. The Light is ever at your side."

She leaned forward, planting a kiss on his forehead. A tingling sensation rippled out from the point where her lips met his skin and he closed his eyes as the garden was engulfed in bright light.

When he came to, he was much less comfortable. His body throbbed with pain and what little he could see of the sky was cold and gray. He spotted Prism hanging in the air above him, the sides of her shell drooping with exhaustion. Her eye widened.

"Harley!"

She dove toward him and he caught her in his hands. "Hey, Prism," he said weakly, his voice still hoarse.

"I couldn't reach you! I kept trying but I couldn't bring you back!"

"It's alright. I'm back now. I'll tell you about it later… I feel terrible right now."

Her beam swept over him. "According to my scan, the bullet wounds have been healed, but your leg is still broken and you have a lot of bruises."

Rae coughed. "Yeah. Your neck looks real bad, Ace."

Harley nodded. "Ghaul," he said in lieu of an explanation. He turned back to his Ghost. "Are you able to heal me?"

"I'm gonna go ahead and say no," said Kaedro, "She burned herself out trying to revive you after the crash."

Harley hugged Prism to his chest.

"Fortunately, we are on the roof of a hospital," said Bazzle.

"A hospital?"

"Well, given that the Tower med bay's a bit destroyed at the moment, it's our best option," joked Kaedro, "It'll be easier to heal here anyway. You'll be right below the Traveler."

Harley smiled at the thought. "Sounds good to me."

He shifted, attempting to sit up. Rae pushed him back.

"No way," she said, "You're not walking on that leg, Ace."

Without having to be asked, Bazzle knelt down, picking him up. Harley winced as the movement jostled his injuries.

"Thanks," he said.

"Of course," the Titan replied.

Kaedro held the door as Bazzle carried Harley into the stairwell. Once they had gotten down to the top level of rooms, Bazzle set him on a bed.

"I am going to go assist with civilian transportation," he said, "I'll check in later."

"Same," said Rae, "I mean, I'm not helping with the transport stuff, but there's something I gotta do."

With that, the Titan and Warlock departed. Kaedro, however, sat down in one of the visitor chairs.

"Not gonna lie, you scared us, Acey." He pointed to his chest. "If I busted some kinda tube in here, I'm holding you responsible."

Harley smiled, removing his boots and dropping them on the floor.

"How'd you manage to come back to life anyway?"

"Long story short, I met the Traveler," said Harley.

"The Tra- you met the _Traveler_?!" Harley nodded. "I can _not _be thinking about this right now," said Kaedro, "I'm not nearly drunk enough… Speaking of drinks, I'd try and find you some water since you sound like hell, but I have no idea if the water pumps or filtration system is running. Power's definitely out, but it's basically morning, so it'll get lighter."

"I think I might get some rest," said Harley.

"That's a great idea. I'll do that too."

Harley nodded, letting his eyes close. He drifted off with Prism still secured in his arms.

* * *

"Ace!" a voice rang out.

Harley dragged his eyelids open to see Fyr grinning at him.

"Hey," he said tiredly.

He looked around the room. Someone had closed the blinds, but he could see a crack of sunlight streaming in at the bottom. Prism was sleeping on the pillow next to him. Kaedro was still in the chair, though now he had a blanket wrapped around him and was glaring at Fyr.

"What are you doing here?" he asked, "Aside from waking us up."

"I was sent here to rest, dude," said Fyr, "Duh."

"Why?"

Fyr shrugged. "All I know is I feel really hot right now and, like, not in the sexy way."

"It's true," said Spark, "He's burning up. No one's sure what's causing it, but a lot of Guardians seem to have been affected."

Kaedro stood up and walked over, holding his blanket around him. He put his hand on Fyr's face and instantly jerked it back.

"Mother of Darkness! You weren't kidding! ...I think I wanna trade places, actually, 'cause I'm really cold right now."

Fyr shook his head. "You don't want that, bro. It's actually super uncomfortable."

He unfastened his cloak and threw it over a chair. Then he pulled off his gloves and boots. Kaedro watched with some concern as he unfastened his armor until he only wore the undersuit. When he started to unzip that as well, Kaedro waved his hands.

"Whoa! It stops there."

Fyr sighed. "Fine. Just lemme get my arms out at least." He pulled his arms out of the sleeves, leaving the upper half of the suit hanging around his waist. "Be right back," he said cheerfully, leaving the room.

Kaedro shook his head before retrieving Fyr's cloak and wrapping it around himself on top of his blanket.

"Are you really that cold?" asked Harley.

The Exo nodded seriously. "Are you not?" Harley shook his head. "Huh."

Kaedro walked closer and pressed his hand against Harley's forehead.

"Whoa, you're pretty warm. Not as warm as Fyr, but still." He pouted. "Why do I have to be the cold one?"

Fyr returned then, rolling a bed. He pushed it into the room and oriented it so it was next to Harley's. Then he took the blankets off and lay down, arms underneath his head. Kaedro immediately picked them up and cocooned himself in them. Harley laughed, earning himself a glare from the other Hunter.

"Sure, laugh it up. It's all fun and games when you're not the one freezing his ass off."

All of a sudden, he grinned mischievously. Piling the blankets on his chair, he walked over to Harley and started pulling back the covers. Harley held on to them.

"What are you doing? These are mine!"

"Scoot over."

"What?"

"I'm cold and I don't have a bed, so share."

"No! Go share with Fyr."

"I would except he doesn't have blankets and I'm kinda worried he'd burn me."

He started to get into the bed. Harley shoved at him, but he couldn't stop himself from laughing. At least, until his leg got jostled.

"Ow ow! Kay, leg! Leg broken!"

Instantly, Kaedro stopped. "Oh, sorry about that Ace. I forgot."

Harley had to chuckle. Next to him, Prism woke up.

"What's going on?"

"Oh, nothing. Kay was just being a _pill_."

The Exo shrugged. "Guilty as charged."

"Could you see how my leg's doing?" asked Harley.

"Of course. Actually, I think I might have enough energy to heal it now."

She scanned him with her healing beam. Instantly, Harley felt the pain in his leg dissipate. He sighed in relief.

"Thanks, Prism."

"Anytime, Harley," she said sleepily, "Now I'm going to get more rest and you should too. Follow Fyr's example."

Harley turned. Sure enough, the Hunter was passed out on the other bed. He stifled a laugh.

"Sounds like a plan."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Art from last chapter is up on my Twitter (ArcaneGlitch) and will soon be up on Instagram and Tumblr as well :3


	16. Debrief

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Guardians begin to relocate to the new Tower as preparations are made to begin rebuilding and repairing the City.

Harley awoke in a different room than the one he'd fallen asleep in. It was much bigger, for one thing. For another, it was occupied by nine other beds. Most of them were taken by the other Chasers, all of whom were in their undersuits. He threw back his own blankets to see that someone had removed his armor as well. He got out of bed, testing his leg. It supported him without a problem. He crossed to the window and looked out. It was nighttime.

"Hey, Ace!" came a cheerful voice from behind him.

He turned to see Liv standing there. She threw her arms around him.

"Hey!" he said, hugging her back.

The other Hunter's skin felt chilly to the touch. She pulled away.

"Whoa, do you have a fever?"

"I don't think so." He looked around the room. "I missed a lot, though. Care to fill me in?"

She nodded. "Most of the evacuated civilians are back in the City now. There hasn't been a lot of time to take stock of how much the Red Legion destroyed, so the majority is packed into Core District. This hospital's been delegated a Guardian recovery center for now. I think almost all of the surviving Guardians are here."

"Why is that?" he asked.

"There's been a lot of weird symptoms among Guardians," said Rae, who was standing next to one of the beds. "They've only just developed a theory about it."

"What do they think it is?" asked Harley.

"Their best guess is that we haven't had the Light for so long that we're hypersensitive to it. The side effects are different depending on the specialty of each Guardian."

"Now that you mention it, I am feeling a bit strange," said Harley. He'd felt jittery and unfocused since he'd woken up.

"Since Arc is your specialty, you're probably gonna feel hyperactive. Liv, Rogue, and I all feel it too."

"Rogue's here?"

"Yep. He and a few other Guardians were in one of the off-world Crucible arenas when the Red Legion hit."

"Ah. Good to know he made it. Also, Liv said I felt hot?"

"Hmm. Do you have Solar Light?"

"He does," Prism chimed in.

"That'll do it," said Rae, "Solar makes you feel like you're running a temperature. It's worse for Guardians who specialize in Solar Light."

"I've dabbled in Void Light before," said Liv, "Is that why I feel so cold?"

"Yep. Your eyes might also be oversensitive to bright light, so watch out."

Harley approached the Warlock and looked at the person in the bed she stood next to. He leaned in and felt a jolt of surprise. It was Kai.

"I thought she was on the Almighty…"

Rae nodded. "She was. That's where I went when Bazzle and I left you. I took Felix up there. He was able to bring her back."

"Thank the Traveler," Liv added, joining them.

"What's the situation with the City?" asked Harley.

"The Vanguard found a location for the new Guardian HQ," said Rae, "Guardians will start moving in as soon as they're able to. What everyone's mainly concerned with is getting the rest of the City back on its feet. Winter will be here soon and we're in pretty bad shape. They're prioritizing the power and water plants. Once those are back online, we need to get people back into the farms so we have enough food to last through the winter. Then the foundries. We lost a lot of armor and weapons in the attack."

"When are you planning to return to the Tower?"

"We should be able to go back tomorrow morning. Get some more sleep if you can. We've got a lot of work ahead of us."

Harley nodded, returning to his bed. But instead of sleeping, he sat cross-legged upon it, thinking. They certainly had a lot of work cut out for them. And that wasn't even factoring the Traveler's comment about "gifts" into the equation. He made a mental note to bring it up with the Vanguard as soon as he found the time.

The next morning, he and the rest of the Chasers prepared to leave the hospital for the new Tower. Most of his armor had been deemed unsalvageable, save for his cloak. His hand cannon, the Freelancer had been badly damaged in the crash, but he refused to discard it, promising himself that he'd repair it later.

They opted to use one of the City's transport ships instead of their own. The flight was uneventful and Harley found it difficult to sit still, most likely due to his current hypersensitivity to Arc Light. His skin wouldn't stop tingling and it was driving him nuts. When they landed, he was barely able to stop himself from sprinting around to get rid of the feeling.

He looked around. The plaza in the new Tower was very different. There wasn't any grass or trees, which was a shame. However, the vendor areas seemed much more accessible.

"Where are we staying?" asked Jade.

"I have our quarters assignment," said Bazzle, "Follow me."

Harley sort of lost track of where they were going, but they ended up outside of a single door.

"I was asked if we would mind an out of the ordinary living arrangement," the Titan informed them, "I said we would not, but if any of you have a problem with it, I'm sure you could move quarters."

"What is the arrangement?" asked Tristan.

Bazzle opened the door. "Instead of separate quarters, it is one large apartment."

Most of the Chasers seemed to perk up at that and hurried in to explore. Harley walked in after them, looking around. The common area was spacious and led from a sitting area with couches to a dining area to, surprisingly, a kitchen. He wandered around a bit before entering one of the rooms, where he found a closet and a decent-sized bed. Instead of a window, there was actually a sliding glass door that opened onto a small balcony.

"Want me to tell the others that you've claimed this room?" asked Prism, sounding amused.

He smiled. "You know me so well."

Taking off his cloak, he dropped it on the bed. Then he set the Freelancer on the small nightstand.

"How long do they think these side effects are going to last?"

"My guess would be a few days but I haven't heard anything else about them."

Harley groaned. He hated the feeling of being mentally exhausted while being physically hyper. His brain wanted to sleep but his body wanted to run. He flopped down onto the bed, staring up at the ceiling.

"This sucks. I can't even help out with getting the City back on its feet."

"There's not much you could do right now anyway," said Prism, "They've gotten the power and water plants up and running, but a lot of sections of the grid are still down. The experts in that field are working on it. Guardians wouldn't be very helpful. The only thing you could do to help with food is be a hunter, in the oldest sense of the word. But you're in no condition to be doing that right now and you won't even have armor or weapons until the foundries are back up and running."

Harley sighed. "I guess you're right."

"Just rest up," said his Ghost sympathetically, "The side effects will pass before you know it."

* * *

Sure enough, by the end of the next week, most - if not all - of the side effects had vanished. Guardians were put back into the field as soon as they were able. Titans began to help with repairs in the City, Warlocks lent a hand in the farms, and Hunters were sent out into the wilds to hunt animals instead of aliens.

Harley found the experience very interesting, but he was still happy when he finally got some time to himself. He wanted to figure out what the Traveler had meant about granting Guardians new gifts. Luckily, he managed to find a secluded area.

"Ok, how do you think I'm supposed to harness the new abilities?"

"You could try meditating," Prism joked.

"Do you think that would help?" he asked.

"Harley, I have no idea. I wasn't even there when the Traveler talked to you." She didn't sound very happy about it, either. "Just access the Light like you normally do and see what happens."

Harley sighed. "Ok."

Taking a deep breath, he reached for his Arc Blade. He felt the power flood through him, more measured than it had been during the week before. But when he opened his eyes, he saw that he wasn't holding a knife, but a staff made of pure Arc Light.

"_Holy…_ What do you think this means, Prism?"

"...I think it means that you have some training to do."

"I'll say." He released the Light, allowing the strange staff to vanish. "I need to tell the others about this."

He set off for the Chasers' quarters. Upon arriving, he found that only Tristan, Rae, and Rogue were there.

"Where is everyone?"

"Bazzle, Jade, Fyr, and Liv were all called in to report to the Vanguard," Tristan informed him, "They said they would return to the City once they were finished."

Rogue nodded. "We're gonna be joining 'em soon. What's up?"

"Uh, right. So, long story short, Guardians have new abilities now."

"What do you mean?" asked Rae.

"Watch this."

He summoned the Arc Staff again.

"Whoa!" said Rogue, "Never seen a Hunter do that."

Harley let the staff disappear.

"How'd you find out?" Rae asked suspiciously.

"It was just something I discovered when I tried to summon my Arc Blade," said Harley a bit self-consciously.

For some reason, he felt like he should keep the Traveler part of the story to himself. Kaedro was the only one who knew and a part of him was telling him to keep it that way.

"How can you be sure that all Guardians have them?" asked Tristan.

Harley shrugged. "Just a feeling."

"You should tell the Vanguard," said Rae, "This is definitely something they'd want to know."

"That works out perfectly," said Prism, "Because I just got a message. They want to see you, Harley."

"Oh...um, great. I'd better get over there. Will I see you guys later?"

"Probably not until dinnertime," said Rae, "We're heading back to the City soon."

Harley nodded. "Sounds good. See you then."

With that, he hurried off to talk to the Vanguard.

"Why do you think they want to see me?" he asked.

"I can think of several reasons," said Prism, "You played a big part in ending the Red War, among other things."

"So you don't think I'm in trouble?"

"Why would you be?"

He shrugged. "I don't know. It just feels like whenever I get called by the Vanguard it's because I'm in trouble."

"You're probably just being paranoid. Or maybe you're going off of...previous experiences too much."

Harley knew exactly which 'previous experience' his Ghost was referring to. It wasn't something he'd forget in a hurry, despite how much he wanted to. When he made it to the plaza, he noticed the Vanguard talking among themselves. They turned to look at him as he walked up.

"Hayden," greeted Zavala, "I trust you've been settling in well."

Harley nodded. "Still not really used to the new Tower though."

Zavala nodded. "That is to be expected. It will take us all some time to adjust."

"You're probably wondering why we wanted to meet with you," said Ikora, "We're looking into improving a few things and we spoke to a few other Guardians about training, specifically."

"What do you mean by that?" Harley asked.

"Basically, things've been pretty relaxed 'round here lately," said Cayde, "And we're thinkin' that maybe if we'd stayed on top of them better, Gary wouldn't've been able to waltz in here with his buddies and smash up the place."

"We would appreciate your input on this, Hayden, considering that you survived in the wild without your Light after the City fell," said Zavala.

Harley nodded. He understood where they were coming from. He had thought before that formal Guardian training ought to have been implemented much sooner.

"I probably would've died without Prism's advice," he said honestly, "Sure, I made it, but it would've been a lot easier if I'd had more training. Hunters could especially use it since they're out in the wilds more than most."

"What would you have them trained in?" asked Ikora.

Harley blinked. The three Vanguard looked expectant. He was touched at how much they seemed to value his opinion.

"Um, what do you have planned already?" he asked.

"We want to implement standard physical training for all Guardians," said Zavala, "Aside from this, there would be training with weapons, ships, and combat scenarios. Class-specific training would be conducted separately."

"New Guardians would undergo the standard training," Ikora added, "Extensive testing will determine which class a Guardian will be placed into, with the specialized training beginning there."

Harley nodded. It sounded like a pretty good system, definitely an improvement on how things were run when he was resurrected.

"We've got a few ideas about the class-specific stuff," said Cayde, "We just wanted to know if you had anything to add on the topic of Hunters."

"Hmm, well, I think basic survival skills ought to be taught. Shelter, fire, food, etcetera. Tracking would probably also be a good idea. And I think all Guardians should be taught basic first aid," he added seriously, "Because we never know if an attack like Ghaul's will happen again. Also, they'd be able to help non-Guardians better."

The Vanguard nodded. "Thank you, Hayden," said Zavala.

Harley nodded back. "Is that all, sir?"

"Not quite. We're requesting that all Guardians submit a report on the Red War. In the event that such a thing should happen again…" His face darkened. "It's better to have that kind of information on record."

"I understand."

"Good. You are dismissed."

"Sir, before I go, there's something I need to tell you."

They looked at him curiously. "What is it, Harley?" asked Ikora.

"When I crashed Ghaul's ship, it killed me. Prism couldn't revive me even after the Light was back. And when I was dead...I talked to the Traveler."

Their stares turned incredulous.

"Are you talking about a vision?" Zavala asked sharply.

Harley shook his head. "I...maybe? It...well, she- That is, it spoke to me in the form of a woman. One of the things she told me was that she'd...gifted Guardians with more abilities."

"...I see. And have you discovered any of these...abilities?"

"Yes. Actually, I discovered one today."

With a bit of concentration, he summoned the Arc Staff.

"Holy mother of Light!" exclaimed Cayde.

"This is incredible," said Ikora, studying the staff, "And the Traveler told you it gave these abilities to all of the Guardians?"

"That's what she implied."

Ikora looked thoughtful. "We'll have to look into this much more to determine the type and extent of these abilities."

Zavala nodded in agreement before focusing his gaze back on Harley. "What else did the Traveler tell you?"

"I.. well, it's kind of personal?"

The Titan Vanguard didn't look happy about it, but he seemed to accept it. "Very well. We will think on this news further... You may go."

Harley turned, starting to walk away.

"One more thing, Hayden."

He looked back.

"...Leave the fact that you spoke to the Traveler out of your report. That kind of thing tends to draw...unwanted attention."

Harley nodded. "I will, sir."

Zavala nodded again before turning back to the other two Vanguard.

As Harley made his way back to his quarters, he thought about what the Commander had said.

"Why do you think Zavala wants it kept a secret that I talked to the Traveler?" he asked.

"Why _wouldn't_ you want it kept a secret?" his Ghost retorted, "Are you telling me that you want that kind of attention on you?"

"_Light_ no. I have enough to worry about as it is. I was just wondering if something like this happened before to make him say that."

"I suppose it could have," said Prism, "Or maybe he's just looking out for your best interests."

"Hmm...what do you think would happen if word got around?"

"Something like that is big news around here. You could probably say goodbye to whatever semblance of a personal life you have left. And I bet my shell that not all of the attention would be positive either. People might think you're lying, trying to make yourself seem important."

Harley had to laugh. "Seriously? That's the last thing I'd _ever_ want."

Prism lifted the sides of her shell in a shrug. "That's how some people rationalize things… You know, another outcome could be they start looking at you as the next Speaker."

"Ugh! Absolutely not!"

Prism chuckled at his reaction. "You're telling me you don't want to be the new Speaker?"

"Stop talking about it!" he hissed, covering his face.

His Ghost continued to laugh the entire way back to the Chasers' quarters.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yes, Kai is back. It could have gone either way but ultimately, I'm not finished with her yet.


	17. Departure

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The City is in a more stable condition, giving the Guardians an opportunity to reflect on their triumph in the Red War and to look toward the future. For some, this means celebrating. For others, this means farewell.

Harley shifted uncomfortably in his seat. He wasn't very happy about how the shiny new ceremonial armor felt compared to the old set he used to have. It drastically needed breaking in, but seeing as how he'd only ever wear it for formal occasions, it wasn't likely to get more comfortable anytime soon. Next to him, the rest of the Chasers looked just as uncomfortable. He had to admit the armor looked nice. Except for the helmets, which he was glad they didn't have to wear.

"_Stop moving around so much,"_ chided Prism.

"_I can't help it! I feel so weird!" _

_"I like the armor,"_ she said, "_And I think you look very handsome."_

Harley felt his cheeks get warm. "_Thanks, Prism."_

He fought off a shiver. It had been a month and six days since they'd taken the City back from the Red Legion and winter was almost upon them. They were sitting in a field on the outskirts of the City, the Guardians in rows of folding chairs facing a stage that had been set up. On the stage sat the faction leaders, the Vanguard, and Hawthorne. To her credit, she looked just as uncomfortable as Harley felt. He had no idea why people were here voluntarily. Civilians had been invited to watch, provided they sit in the rows behind the Guardians. Jia was back there somewhere. So was Ryan, who Harley had learned, had survived the attack on the Tower.

Up on the front of the stage, Zavala was still talking. Harley had tried to pay attention when he'd started his speech, but he'd soon found himself zoning out. The Commander had talked at length about 'rising above the tragedy of the Red War'. Apparently, 'Revival Day' was now going to be called 'Solstice of Heroes' and would last a few weeks. It would be a holiday to remember the Red War and how they had overcome the Red Legion without even the Light to help them.

'So basically my birthday's gonna be associated with a terrible event in history from now on' he wrote in the Chaser group chat.

To which Kai responded, 'oh Ace, your birthday was _already_ a terrible event in history :)'

He shot her a glare for that one. Upon turning his gaze back to the stage, he made eye contact with Cayde. The Hunter Vanguard winked at him before over-dramatically pretending to take a picture. Harley stuck his tongue out. How dare Cayde make fun of him when _he_ didn't have to wear the ceremonial armor. He could probably show up in sweatpants and get away with it. Just then, Zavala apparently came to the end of his speech.

"And now," he said, "I would like to honor several Guardians who were instrumental in defeating the Red Legion." He cleared his throat. "Fyr Allerton," he called.

Fyr stood up, grinning.

"He and his team placed their lives on the line by taking part in a deception that distracted the enemy, giving others enough time to secure footholds against the Cabal."

The assembled crowd of Guardians and civilians clapped and whistled. Even though Fyr was one of the most attention-loving Guardians that Harley knew, he could see the other Hunter's face get red. He looked more than happy to sit down after the applause died down.

"Kai Grayham."

Kai stood up.

"While the rest of us were preparing to assault the City, Grayham single-handedly took down the Almighty, giving up her life to do so. Without her sacrifice, we would not be here today."

More applause and whistling. Harley thought Kai got a few more whistles, probably due to how long she'd been a Guardian. After she sat down, Zavala spoke up again.

"Harley Hayden."

Harley could swear his face was already red as he stood up, trying his best not to flip up the hood of his cloak and hide.

"Hayden teleported up to Dominus Ghaul's ship, seized control, and crashed it, killing both himself and Ghaul in the process. His actions were the epitome of the bravery all Guardians strive for."

The crowd broke out in cheering and Harley nearly ducked his head. He wasn't sure how long it went on - as every second felt like an eternity to him - but he was more than grateful to sit back down, sinking into the anonymity of the crowd. Cayde caught his eye again and mimed clapping before pointing at him with finger guns. Harley slouched further in his seat, turning his face into his hand. He almost missed the next name being called.

"Livayla Marko."

Liv hopped to her feet.

"Stand up!" yelled one of the Guardians in the back. A wave of giggling broke out.

Liv turned, glaring in the person's general direction. "If you wanna come say that to my face, how about you meet me in the Crucible after this thing?"

Zavala motioned for silence. "While she may have breached orders and ignored protocol…" Several 'oooohs' followed this statement. "in many ways, Marko was the driving force behind the resistance. She pushed to reclaim the base on Titan from the Hive, she pushed for the Vanguard to reunite, and she kept her peers focused on taking back our home. I think we can all learn from her in this: never stop pushing."

The Guardians chorused their agreement, clapping fiercely. Many were still clapping when Liv took her seat.

"This brings us to the last Guardian. Last but certainly not least. Bazzle Torelli, please come to the stage."

Harley watched as Bazzle rose from his seat and walked forward. He didn't look surprised. Whatever Zavala was doing, he must have discussed it with Bazzle beforehand. Once the other Titan had joined him onstage, the Commander began to speak again.

"During the Red War, Torelli led the effort to take the Control Center on Titan. He has proven himself many times as a leader and an advisor. What's more, during our attack on the City, he led his team onto the Wall and captured anti-aircraft guns from the Cabal for our use. He also volunteered to oversee Guardian training, both overall, and as the Titan mentor. Because of these things and more, I have seen fit to promote him to Deputy Commander alongside Sloane, who is head of the Guardian presence on Titan."

The crowd roared in applause. Harley rose to his feet and saw the rest of the Chasers doing the same. The Guardians behind them followed their example until no one was seated. Harley watched as Bazzle shook Zavala's hand before leaving the stage and returning to their row, where he was greeted with congratulatory pats on the back.

Zavala had to wait a while for the noise to die down. Once it did, he said a few closing words.

"Well done all of you. In your efforts against the Red Legion, you have proven yourselves more than deserving of the Light. Be brave, Guardians. Remember your history and look to the future, because it is a bright one."

The cheering rose to a magnitude that surpassed everything before it. Harley's ears were still ringing as he and the other Chasers headed back toward the Tower.

"They only clapped so loud because they wanted to leave," said Kai.

He laughed, possibly a bit too loudly going by the looks he got. As they rode the elevator up, Harley found himself thinking about Jade. Over the past few weeks, unrest had churned inside him. He felt as though they had left too much unsaid between them. Their exchanges seemed to lack substance in some critical way. He couldn't explain it, but he'd felt it ever since Jade had confessed her feelings for him during the Taken King incident.

Tomorrow, he planned to leave the Tower to gather more intel on the movements of the Vex and had no idea when he would return. Knowing this enhanced his need to talk to her and hopefully clear some of the air between them.

"_So you're really planning to go through with it then? Investigating the Vex?" _

_"Yep. I'll start getting stuff together after I talk to Jade." _

_"What are you going to tell her?" _

_"Not entirely sure, but I think I have an idea. Whether it works out or not...you'll get to see that for yourself." _

He'd start by telling her what had happened between him and Kyler - something he'd kept to himself since it had happened. When the elevator arrived at the proper level, he got out and waited by the doors until he spotted Jade. He tapped her on the shoulder.

"Could I talk to you for a second?"

She nodded. "Of course."

He led her away from the Guardians streaming out of the elevator, to one of the upper levels of the plaza. She looked at him expectantly. He cleared his throat self-consciously before speaking.

"So...I wanted to talk to you for a while."

"Yes?"

"It's about Kyler," he began.

"Oh."

_Smooth, Hayden._ "I want you to know what happened between us…"

He told her about waking up alone the day after Kyler's birthday. About how late in the afternoon, he'd received a message from Kyler telling him to meet him at an address in the City. Then he told her about how Kyler had threatened to shoot Prism before shooting him in the chest. _This is the way it was meant to be._

Jade looked horrified and more than a bit angry on his behalf. Then he reached inside his collar and pulled out the bone fishhook that he had worn since that day.

"It's so stupid," he said frustratedly, "He betrayed me. He _shot_ me. And I still haven't taken this Light-forsaken thing off."

"I can't believe he would do something like that," said Jade in shock, "I can't believe that he _did_ do something like that."

"Neither can I," said Harley bitterly, "Maybe that's why I can't get rid of this damn necklace."

"Do the others know?"

He shook his head. "You're the only one."

She looked at him for a long moment. "That can't have been your only reason for talking to me."

He nodded. "You're right. There's something else..." He took a deep breath. "I feel like things have been...not weird exactly, but..._different_ between us for a while. Remember when I was recovering in the med bay after Phobos?" She nodded. "And you said you had a crush on me?" She blushed but nodded again. "I think I said something about not being ready for a relationship."

"Something like that. You also made a joke."

"I did?"

"Yep."

He cringed. "Sorry about that. You did kind of drop it on me out of nowhere to be fair… Anyway, I know I said I wasn't ready, and to be honest, I don't think I will be for a while. My first attempt at a relationship wasn't what I'd call a success, and I think I made things worse by not talking to anyone else about it. Probably also why things changed between us too - me not talking. I should've talked to you after the conversation we had in the med bay because we never really talked that out - seriously, that is." He laughed a bit nervously. "Anyway, I'm rambling now... Feel free to stop me at any time."

"We all make mistakes," said Jade, "We all say things that we wish we hadn't or _don't _say them when we should have. The timing was bad and that's no one's fault. I know I told you that I was over you then, but I lied. I thought it would be easier for me if I lied but it wasn't."

Harley blinked, not completely sure what to say to that. Luckily for him, Jade kept going.

"I know you're dealing with a lot right now. Oryx stuff aside, Kyler betrayed you in the worst possible way. It can be difficult to trust again after something like that, but I hope you know that you'll always be able to trust me."

Harley smiled, a bit sadly. "I wish that saying I trust you could make it true. I _want _to. Traveler knows I want to, but I think - subconsciously - I'll worry about someone else doing what Kyler did, at least for a while. I know It isn't fair to you or the others. I hope you won't hold it against me."

"I would never. Kyler hurt you and a hurt like that is always hard to heal. It's _not_ your fault. _Kyler's _the one to blame."

Harley exhaled shakily and nodded. What had he ever done to deserve such an understanding friend? He smiled at her.

"Thanks. That means a lot... Maybe sometime down the road, I'll be ready for another relationship."

Jade nodded. "I'd hate for your dating experience to start and end with Kyler," she said, semi-jokingly.

"Me too… I have no idea how long it'll take to get to that point, though."

"The road to recovery isn't a straight line," said Jade, "But like all roads, it starts somewhere." She paused. "I know it's hard to regain trust once it's been broken. But...if there's some way I could help, I'd like to. Maybe there's a way to _show _you that people - especially the Chasers - are trustworthy. Because if there _is _a way, I'll do it. Over and over. As long as it takes."

Harley took a deep breath. "This is going to be a big ask, but... I don't want to stay in the Tower. I want to investigate the Vex. I want to be out there, and I know Hunters mostly travel alone, but I think the wilds would be a lot better if you were there too. Do you want to come with me?"

He witnessed the exact moment where Jade's mood came crashing down, her smile vanishing like a wisp of steam on the wind.

"Oh, Harley, I can't... I meant to tell you this sooner but I'm actually going to be mentoring the Warlocks for the Vanguard's new training program. I'll be based at the Tower almost 24/7."

What would have been amazing news at any other moment hit Harley in a crushing blow.

"That…that's great news," he said. He must have sounded a bit numb because Jade looked worried. "No really, it _is_."

The Warlock swallowed. "I know you want to be out there. It would be unfair to make you stay behind on my account... Why don't we put a pin in this until things are less crazy? I can settle into my new job and you can have some time away from the Tower. Then we can come back and figure things out."

"I think it's worth a shot," he said.

"Then it's a plan?"

He shot her a small smile. "...It's a plan."

A tone emanated from her interface. She glanced at it. "Oh! I'm supposed to check in on Fyr... He'll be the Hunter mentor, believe it or not. I'm sure the Vanguard would've preferred someone with more experience, but he was the only Hunter who'd stay in the Tower willingly. Honestly, I'm still not sure why _I_ got the Warlock job either." She laughed a bit. "Want to come talk to Fyr with me?"

"Actually, I think I'm going to turn in for the night," he said, "I'm planning to leave pretty early tomorrow."

"Oh...well safe travels then."

"Thanks."

She gave a halfhearted smile. "Visit when you can."

Harley nodded even though he knew he wouldn't be visiting much at all. "Goodbye Jade, I'll see you when the stars lead me back."

It was a Hunter phrase - mostly used as a joke - but Jade smiled anyway.

"Goodbye, Harley. I'll see you then."

With one last wave, she turned back to join the party that had started without them.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So that brings us to the end of another story. I've already started working on part 7, but I have no idea when it'll be finished, so stay tuned. To be notified when part 7 is posted, you can either subscribe to me or the Chasing Fate series.
> 
> For more frequent updates, as well as CF art, you can find me on Twitter and Instagram ( ArcaneGlitch).
> 
> I also run a discord server called Creation Station with a lot of awesome people. If you want to join, the invite code is: XtED4V9
> 
> Finally, thank you all so much for your kudos and comments. I'll see you in part 7!
> 
> \- TheWolfParadox/ArcaneGlitch


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